Downton Abbey, Season Three: Are You Ready to (Tea) Party?

January 6, 2013

Finally, Downton Abbey fans, it’s time for Season 3, when the gloves come off and these tea partiers get ready to rumble!

Well, not exactly. But, having seen a preview of episode one on Saturday morning as part of a KQED members’ special event, I can promise that the quips, especially from Maggie Smith’s Dowager Countess, come thick and fast. Even Cora gets in a few snappy lines, and Michelle Dockery’s Lady Mary continues with her martini-dry asides.

We won’t spoil your fun, except to say that yes, this episode is even more madly soap-opera-ish than its predecessors (excluding, of course, the Titanic/amnesia/will-the-real-Patrick-Crawley-please-stand-up plot line of last season), with dire situations set up and then (mostly) snappily resolved in the time it takes to boil a kettle. Still, plenty of questions remain for loyal fans to ponder.

Will the steadfast Anna channel her inner Lord Peter Wimsey and prove that Vera framed Bates to take the fall for her suicide? Will always-a-bridesmaid Lady Edith be reunited with her pre-war almost-fiance, the aged Lord Strallan? Will Sybil and her Irish firebrand husband return from Dublin, and will the rest of the Crawleys ever get used to calling him Tom (like an equal), and not Branson (like a servant)? Whose future will the nefarious O’Brian ruin next? And what lies ahead for everyone’s favorite kitchen maid, the conscience-stricken, unappreciated Daisy?

(Keep an eye out, too, for some new faces below stairs: after all, as Amanda Dobbins writes, “Tea trays and dead Turkish diplomats do not carry themselves!”)

As the Crawleys and their servants well know, even the most difficult of situations–midnight elopements, deadly flu epidemics, the wrong shirt–can be smoothed over with a good, strong cup of tea and its accompanying starchy treats. On Saturday, KQED members from all around the Bay Area who braved the very English chilly, rainy weather were rewarded with a Downton-worthy spread of croissants, fruit scones, fresh fruit, frittata squares, and tiny, crustless smoked-salmon and cucumber tea sandwiches, although we hardly think Mrs. Patmore–or even Cousin Isobel–would have countenanced the paper cups and tea bags standing in for the show’s Spode and Darjeeling. But there were hats aplenty, and a fun opportunity to snap pictures standing in front of a life-sized photo-mural of the full cast.

So if you haven’t invited a bunch of Downton Abbey-loving friends over for a Sunday night viewing party, you should, since yesterday’s event proved that it’s a lot more fun to watch such a sweeping, soapy costume drama in a roomful of like-minded fans.

Need some inspiration for the menu for Season 3? You can check out KQED’s Downtown Abbey page, with appropriate recipes for scones, Coronation Chicken, bread and butter pudding and more, or face the drama with a strong cocktail like The Bittersweet Mr. Bates.

You can plan your menu for downstairs (“That treacle tart really hit the spot, thank you, Mrs. Patmore”) or upstairs (“Oh no, Robert, those cocktails look too exciting for so early in the evening”). Talking about the making of the original Upstairs Downstairs, the hit BBC series from the 1970s that set the stage for “big house” dramas like Downton Abbey, creator and lead actress Jean Marsh, who played head house parlormaid Rose, said the actors “in service” had it much better than their betters upstairs, at least when it came to food on the set:

“We had lovely, untidy, real brown loaves and socking great big lumps of cheese, real Cheddar, big slabs of butter…eggs and bacon cooked by Angela Badley [who played the cook, Mrs. Bridges] on the set. And the poor upstairs people had grouse that had gone off and all their food was painted with glycerin to make to look good, and it was sitting around forever. They’d come onto our set and say ‘Can we have some bread and cheese?’ and we’d say ‘No, go away, it’s ours, be off with you!’

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 600

01/31/2013

Am I the only gay man that doesn't like this show? I saw it a few times, and didn't think much of it.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 2

01/06/2013

Starting now on PBS, yes?

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 3

01/06/2013

The Angela Lansbury special that had her dishing about the first two seasons was a hoot.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 4

01/06/2013

[quote]We're not tweeting spoilers, but what's happening on #DowntonPBS on the East Coast right now is making many people squeal.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 6

01/06/2013

Just watch Gosford Park and save yourself the time.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 7

01/06/2013

All that build up and they didn't show the wedding ceremony at all! It seemed like they cut out a bunch of stuff and the next thing you know they're driving back from their honeymoon (or whatever they did.)

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 8

01/06/2013

Are they inventing the Waldorf salad?

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 10

01/06/2013

Well Shirley MacLaine just took that show down about 10 notches. I knew it was wrong wrong wrong to cast her. Was it just a one off or will she be returning?

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 12

01/06/2013

Shirley's part was boring and a waste.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 13

01/06/2013

At Shirley's part was a bit cartoonish and she fell flat. But towards the end there, she seemed to find her way, and she was fine. But didn't I read Fellows was not happy with her at all?

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 14

01/06/2013

LOVED IT!

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 15

01/06/2013

Everything about Shirley was false from her wig to her voice which sounded dubbed or disembodied. What the hell was that about? Was she actually the first choice for that role?

The only thing real was the dowager's hump she's developed in her elder years.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 16

01/06/2013

Of Partridge family fame?

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 17

01/06/2013

Can't stand Shirley and putting her on the show ruins it.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 18

01/06/2013

Shirley was only in the first couple of eps, and she did get better in her second appearance.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 19

01/06/2013

[quote] We're not tweeting spoilers, but what's happening on #DowntonPBS on the East Coast right now is making many people squeal

I didn't hear anyone squeal

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 20

01/07/2013

The only squealing I heard was in the background of the prison scenes...

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 21

01/07/2013

Downtown Abbey anachronism #3:

How common was knowledge of (breast) cancer in 1920 (at least for a cook and housekeeper to know of it)?

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 22

01/07/2013

You people are truly idiots. Shirley MacLaine was pitch perfect as the jewish grandmother from the east coast. She couldn't have been better. It's her best performance in years. I was afraid she'd ham it up but she did not. And the episodes we saw tonight were great. I cannot believe the previous posts. Dumbasses!

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 23

01/07/2013

MacLaine was great. Love her Thoroughly Modern maid too.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 24

01/07/2013

Why would anyone put an Abbey downtown? It makes no sense to take up valuable real estate that way.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 25

01/07/2013

Various cancers, and the word 'cancer' (in English)were familiar by the middle of the 19th century (actually, much earlier, references can be found to the disease and its likely dire consequences in the writing of the Roman physician, Galen)and certainly more common manifestations of the disease (such as breast cancer) would have been known generally by the 1890's.

Treatment was not sophisticated and detection was not always reliable; however radical mastectomies were performed by the 1860's, more frequently as the century went on. Breast cancer, detected early, is no longer an automatic death sentence, but into the 1950's it often was. Though Downton Abby trades on stereotypes, many of them exaggerated (I thought the MacLaine character totally unconvincing as written. It's more likely that a very wealthy Jewess from the Northeast in America would have been as proper and class conscious as the Brits -- about some things, more so).

But the two older and more experienced maids would have certainly known about breast cancer, and viewed it with alarm.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 26

01/07/2013

I've really enjoyed the first two seasons. I was a bit disappointed in the first two episodes last night (assume the two-hour U.S. premiere was two episodes worth). Shirley MacLaine's role was just OK.

So is it confirmed that Dan Stevens won't be back for Season 4?

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 27

01/07/2013

"So is it confirmed that Dan Stevens won't be back for Season 4?"

He's dead set on leaving. Emphasis on dead.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 28

01/07/2013

Shirley MacLaine didn't work. Just didn't work. Hopefully her character will disappear.

The rest of the cast did well though, but am I the only one who thinks Dan Stevens is a mediocre actor at best? His acting seems to consist of grimacing, sulking, and shaking his hair. Looking forward to seeing him exit.

Poor Rob J-C. He has to be the show's only villain. Even Mrs O is turning into a nice woman.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 29

01/07/2013

Matthews excuse not to financially save Downton was pathetic. His character bores me. And Matthew and Mary have zero chemistry.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 30

01/07/2013

R8 the broadcasts are edited for PBS. The DVD which comes out later this month will have the scenes that were cut.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 31

01/07/2013

I thought Bates was more aggressive than necessary. Is this a clue to what he's really like?

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 32

01/07/2013

R29, I do find Mrs. O'Brien's transformation believable. She started to turn a corner after she caused the miscarriage in Season 1. Then she felt guilty about bringing Mrs. Bates into the picture when it eventually led to the murder conviction.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 33

01/07/2013

I hate Shirley MacLaine, always have, but I thought she was just fine here.

And yes, r32, were we given a hint that he may have really murdered his wife? (Or has it been confirmed that he did not?)

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 34

01/07/2013

The storyline that Matthew won't use the money he inherits from Lavinia's father is really stupid. Why not? It's a pathetic attempt at being noble.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 35

01/07/2013

Julian is probably doing a little lifting from Rebecca with the Bates story.

Dear Vera probably had cancer and decided to take advantage of her situation to bring down her ex-husband too. Vera's BFF will reveal all to sweet Anna, Vera's death will be ruled a suicide and Bates will get released. But Anna will get a few hints that maybe he did it after all.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 36

01/07/2013

[quote] The storyline that Matthew won't use the money he inherits from Lavinia's father is really stupid. Why not? It's a pathetic attempt at being noble.

It would have worked better as an inner conflict, without Mary and anyone else knowing.

The way it plays now brings out the worst in the actor playing Matthew

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 37

01/07/2013

Shirley MacLaine was fine. I was expecting her to be over the top and camp. But the subdued tone of her performance fit in just fine with the show.

[quote]The storyline that Matthew won't use the money he inherits from Lavinia's father is really stupid.

Totally agree. It's just ridiculous.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 38

01/07/2013

I'm genuinely amazed there are prople who havent seen the entire Series 3 via The Internets. Who waits for dinosaur TV networks these days? Are you going to wait an entire year as well for Blandings with Jennifer Saunders?

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 39

01/07/2013

Loving the costumes this season.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 40

01/07/2013

[quote]I'm genuinely amazed there are people who havent seen the entire Series 3 via The Internets. Who waits for dinosaur TV networks these days?

Personally, I hate watching TV on the internet. It's weird. It's just not the same experience as watching it on TV. I'd rather get comfortable on the couch and have a cozy evening. Make an event out of it.

Besides I don't need to see everything the very second it's available on the internets. I'm happy to wait and let the excitement build. Have something to look forward to.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 41

01/07/2013

Agreed R41. It's something to do on Sunday night, the last chance to relax before the weekend is over

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 42

01/07/2013

i thought it was snoozeworthy.

not enough nasty maggie smith quips and MUCH too much of that boring lead couple.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 43

01/07/2013

You realize you can watch the Internet on your TV, yes?

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 44

01/07/2013

Yes R44, but you're missing the point

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 45

01/07/2013

Tedious in the extreme. I kept looking at the clock for two hours.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 46

01/07/2013

Is it just me or is Sybil looking rather husky?

From last night's viewing, it's hard to believe she will be the breakout Downton star to go on to Hollywood fame and success.

And is Elizabeth McGovern on painkillers or drunk or something? Worst line readings and facial expressions I've ever seen and heard!

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 47

01/07/2013

The point is pointless.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 48

01/07/2013

If people want to wait and watch someone when it legally airs I don't think that is a bad thing, though yes I watched it while it aired in the UK.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 49

01/07/2013

I agree McGovern seemed off, and has aged a lot since the last season. I wondered if she was ill.

This morning I checked her age - born 1961 - no surprise there. Was surprised to find out Hugh Bonneville is only 50.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 50

01/07/2013

I would say the wealthy Newport folk of that time were very pretentious and aped English ways and mannerisms. After all the Levinsons had sold off a daughter for a lot of money to get the title and all its trimmings for their daughter. They were already Anglophiles, I think in real life the Levinson character would have been much more restrained, especially when visiting Britain.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 51

01/07/2013

Late to the party here. Why is it called an "Abbey"? Did nuns live there once?

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 52

01/07/2013

Shirley MacLaine's character was ridiculous.

Are we supposed to think that someone who summered in Newport ate like that?

Every one of my Jewish relatives adore the British. They love the accent, the kultchah, the histry, the litritchuh.

Rich Americans tried to act "not American" when in Britain, and that was a source of great amusement at the time.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 53

01/07/2013

I do agree with R51 and R53. That character was a rich American who cared enough about British aristocracy that she sent off her daughter to marry a broke royal. It made little sense for her to be so dismissive and insulting considering that.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 54

01/07/2013

R51, your post probably went up as I was typing mine. Same thoughts. People in Newport were very proper.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 55

01/07/2013

Well Cousin Matthew, the way he's written (now) is possibly the luckiest guy ever. Simply by standing there, and having people die off, he's become the heir of Downton, AND inherited a packet of money. It's like the 3rd runner up becoming Miss America...twice.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 56

01/07/2013

Not that I disagree about ghastly Shirley but are we supposed to think that she is Jewish or was it just the late Mr. Levinson who was?

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 57

01/07/2013

R51 is right. Having a daughter marry into the English aristocracy would have been a social coup for a rich American family, even if it did require a huge amount of money. When visiting England they would have been eager to impress and would certainly not have alienated their new in laws. Even though they're the ones who truly held the power.

If Martha Levinson didn't care what the English thought she wouldn't have been so eager to marry Cora into one of their better families.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 58

01/07/2013

[quote]hat character was a rich American who cared enough about British aristocracy that she sent off her daughter to marry a broke royal.

The Crawleys are aristocrats, not royals.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 60

01/07/2013

I think the story is that Cora's father is (or was) Jewish, but Martha isn't. Cora was raised Christian.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 61

01/07/2013

I thought Shirley stumbled through her performance and acted her age. It was slightly embarrassing to watch it. The script and the cutting made her trouble with the dialog worse. It was a sad thing to see, but she is very old after a successful career. The character was played like Kathy Bates's Margaret "Molly" Brown in Titanic.

I thought she would have dresses with more restraint to show off her jewelry. Shirley was buried under that costume - or maybe she was hunched over by her age.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 62

01/07/2013

Shirley seemed to be acting in another movie to me. I really only watch this for Maggie Smith. I hate Matthew and Mary, the have no chemistry, he ex fiancee was way hotter. Matthew needs a jaw line stat and Mary needs to gain weight. Sybil's neck rivals Britney Spears. What an unattractive cast. I was bored stiff and quit after the first hour.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 63

01/07/2013

[quote] possibly the luckiest guy ever

That is, of course, the way things were for hundreds of years. Cousins inherited very frequently.

Which was usually UNlucky for someone else.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 64

01/07/2013

Mary has no tits whatsoever.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 65

01/07/2013

No, I don't think there has been any explanation about who is Jewish in Cora's side of the familt. Have watched series from beginning and nothing made of the Jewish aspect of the story. It would be quite something for British aristocracy to be accepting of that in those days!

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 67

01/07/2013

[quote] It would be quite something for British aristocracy to be accepting of that in those days

It's based on the true story of Mary Leiter, the daughter of Levi Zeigler Leiter, a dry goods millionaire from Maryland, and his wife Mary. They married their daughter to Lord Curzon, and she became Vicereine of India

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 68

01/07/2013

The whole show Iis ridiculous. They accept the chauffeur son in law, but are horrified that Sir Anthony Strallen is supposedly 25 years older than the middle daughter?

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 69

01/07/2013

They should just be happy that ANYONE wants to marry Lady Edith. One less mouth to feed.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 70

01/07/2013

They've got American Jews in the family, as well as an Irish republican chauffeur; their current heir is a 78th cousin who is a nobody solicitor; they have a valet on death row, they serve a melange of leftovers in the drawing room after inviting everyone to a black tie dinner and sing popular songs that upper crust British people probably never heard before -- but Sir Anthony has a bum arm and us old enough to be -- well, to be an older husband -- but it's the last straw for Lord Grantham, dammit!

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 72

01/07/2013

I love the show...

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 73

01/07/2013

[quote]inviting everyone to a black tie dinner

Quelle Horreur! Didn't you watch the show?

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 74

01/07/2013

The ONLY thing even remotely wrong with Sir Anthony is that he's 25 y ears older than Edith. In every other respect he's perfect.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 75

01/07/2013

I say no! I'll not have my plain and uninteresting middle daughter marry a wealthy titled aristocrat simply because she loves him! I won't hear of it.

There's got to be a perfectly good Mau Mau out there somewhere....

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 76

01/07/2013

Best part of this show is the openng credits, and the best part of the opening credits is Hugh Bonneville's name on the dog's ass.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 77

01/07/2013

Shirley had 1000 variations on one line: "I'm a MODERN AMERICAN, dontcha know!"

I'm amazed people think this is anything more than a shitty soap in Merchant Ivory dressing.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 78

01/07/2013

[quote] It would be quite something for British aristocracy to be accepting of that in those days

No, r68, it's based on the true story of Almina Wombwell, who in 1895 married the cash-strapped Earl of Carnarvon (seated at Highclere, the estate in the show).

She was a Rothschild . . . and illegitimate.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 79

01/07/2013

there needs to be a "Maggie Smith Show" where she and four guests play bridge for the hour. I can see her shooting withering looks at Anne Hathaway and asking "is there ANY way to shut her up?"

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 80

01/07/2013

Only a moron would think otherwise, R78

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 81

01/07/2013

The ignorance of 90% of the posters on this thread is astounding.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 82

01/07/2013

I was disappointed in the shows last night. It was pretty much all downhill from the non-showing of the wedding vows.

Makes absolutely no sense that Edith's parents aren't JUMPING at the chance for her to marry a rich guy. The fact that he's older would mean she'd probably get his money that much sooner.

The Anna/Bates story has gone on for too long. By the time gets out I'll no longer care.

I couldn't get past Shirley MacLaine's embalmed appearance enough to notice if she was good or bad.

I still like Matthew. Don't know why but I do.

And Sybil is "husky" because she is pregnant.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 83

01/07/2013

The most salient point made by all the posters so far:

Matthew needs a chin.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 84

01/07/2013

So sorry to have spoiled it all for you - seeing how much you all LOVE the show!

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 85

01/07/2013

I think we have one "I hate Downton" troll in here who keeps posting stuff over and over again...

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 86

01/07/2013

I agree with Elizabeth McGovern seeming "off" like she's on some heavy meds.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 88

01/07/2013

watched it for the first time last night, and the most unbelievable thing to me was the abundance of sunshine

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 89

01/07/2013

Liz McGovern needs to EAT!

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 90

01/07/2013

Of course they're not Jews. Do you really imagine the Earl of Grantham would marry a Jew? Not only that, but no one would ever even hint at the fact. It's a German name.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 91

01/07/2013

It's getting difficult to distinguish the actual show from that Saunders parody.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 92

01/07/2013

A question about Season One: When Mr. Pamuk began to seduce Lady Mary, she protested, saying that she was inexperienced (a virgin). He stressed something along the line that she still would be....so, what did the two of them do sexually? Was he just deceiving her, or did they limit themselves to non-penetrative sex....perhaps oral only? I've never seen this discussed.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 93

01/07/2013

[quote]It's a German name.

Yeah... "son of Levi." It's German-Jewish.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 94

01/07/2013

R93, think hard.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 95

01/07/2013

R95, please elaborate. You aren't suggesting that Lady Mary did anal, are you?

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 96

01/07/2013

Shirley looked like a turtle embalmed in black onyx and marquisette.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 97

01/07/2013

I rather liked the premiere last night. A low-key Shirley was ultimately the best choice. But Maggie's remarks about her sun-ravaged skin made no sense as she was white as a ghost.

Yes, Lady Sybil is pregnant. I know she and Tom would be happy if it's a boy, but I think she'd just die if she could have a daughter.

And I loved Matthew's sports car. Just hope it's not the death of him.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 98

01/07/2013

Who are you people who waited almost six frigging months to watch season 3? I watched the whole damn thing online immediately after each episode aired in the UK.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 99

01/07/2013

Is Lady Sibyl carrying the child in her neck?

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 100

01/07/2013

I agree r98, I'm going against the grain here too, but I liked Shirley M. and the character she played and I think she gave the show a lift. Besides, she's not going to be on there forever so the rest of the bitches here can just suck it up and get over it. I get more patriotically American when I watch that show--when Mary gave her mother sass about being an American I said out loud, "slap her face, Cora!". R87, I kind of dislike Bates too--there are so many subplots going on, his being one of them, that I think they could do with some thinning out, maybe starting with him. R96, the Turks like anal, but my impression was more male on male.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 101

01/07/2013

[quote]Who are you people who waited almost six frigging months to watch season 3? I watched the whole damn thing online immediately after each episode aired in the UK.

We've already covered that. Forget about it and try to move on with your life.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 102

01/07/2013

i am a bit perplexed, as this is a tea thread, about the house china. It appears from the credits that the Grantham's china in the opening sequence is Royal Doulton Chantilly Ivory encrusted with an armorial crest. However, the china actually placed upon the Grantham tables each episode is Spode Sheffield White.

It seems so curious.

I'll have strong tea, please.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 103

01/07/2013

r52, it may have been a Catholic monastery and was handed out to one of Henry VIII's favorites to be turned into a residence during the Dissolution of the Monasteries in the 1530s as a few actually were. There were very few monasteries that returned to being monasteries in Britain (or at least England) and not until the 19th century afer most of the religious crap died down in England and there was actually an attempted revival of Catholicism I think promulgated by some prelate named Newman(?) at that time. The vast majority of monasteries were left to rot and become looted for building materials, etc. Wikipedia has a comprehensive list of ruined monasteries in Britain. Tinturn Abbey is another famous ruined abbey. Westminster Abbey somehow escaped as it had something to do with royalty or some such crap and I think there are still a few monks there.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 104

01/07/2013

I was promised two new hot footmen this season, and all I got was a ginger.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 105

01/07/2013

Fuck the posters (i.e. R99) who are like, "Why on Earth did you wait all this time to watch when you could've been watching it ONLINE?!" My sister gave me the whole season months ago, but I chose to wait and watch it along with all my friends and the majority of America. There's nothing wrong with that. We're not mentally deficient because we happened to wait, asshole. Besides, there's been plenty of other stuff to watch during the hiatus. So much, in fact, that I barely have had time to keep up.

In short, fuck off.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 106

01/07/2013

"There needs to be a Maggie Smith hour where she plays bridge and shoots withering glances...and says "is there any way to make he shut up?'"

R80, there is. It's called "Gosford Park", and she is playing bridge and making snarky remarks about Jeremy Northam's character singing in the drawing room.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 108

01/07/2013

R107: some answers:

O'Brien cares for the ginger footman because he is her cousin/nephew

I'm thinking Edith's fiance is also gay

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 109

01/07/2013

The Bates story is to Downtown Abbey what the Sophia story was to Walking Dead.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 110

01/07/2013

Last night's episode was amazing! Anybody who has anything negative to say should stick to Honey Boo Boo reruns.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 111

01/07/2013

R107, I know what ya mean about the wedding gown - but from what I've seen of photos and ads of the period, it is "correct" - as is her bouquet, those calla lillies were all the rage.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 112

01/07/2013

I'm well aware of that, R108, I've seen Gosford many times. In the episode last night Maggie ALSO played cards. I'm talking about a talk show consisting solely of Maggie playing cards with four in-the-news guests. You're as dumb as the writing on "Downton".

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 113

01/07/2013

[quote]Makes absolutely no sense that Edith's parents aren't JUMPING at the chance for her to marry a rich guy. The fact that he's older would mean she'd probably get his money that much sooner

But she wouldn't necessarily get his money would she? If she didn't have a male child the money would go to the next closest male relative just like in the Granthams' situation. And his age may make that more likely. Would Edith be penniless then?

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 114

01/07/2013

R114, that's true. Edith would not inherit the estate. Her child(ren) could unless it's a girl and the estate is entailed away from the female line. But he could still leave Edith money, unless of course all his money is tied up in the estate. If he left her no estate and no money, Edith would likely go live with a rich relative. She should head to Newport to be with grandma!

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 115

01/07/2013

Great episode!

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 116

01/07/2013

Where can I stream stream the entire 3rd season?

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 117

01/07/2013

I also was assuming that Strallen was gay or asexual, hence his reluctance for Edith, but then at the end of last night he was finally won over. Was LOrd GRantham really just objecting to his age difference or was something else implied?

Do we really need the Mrs. Hughes breast cancer plotline?

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 118

01/07/2013

You're terrible, r98.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 120

01/07/2013

Poor Edith, she is way too eager. Even Strallen seems to find her desperation pathetic.

And how pathetic is that: I watch the show for ... Thomas the Gay Footman! I've been waiting to see his story develop since episode one, when he gets ricked by the duke ...

So, is the only gay character in this series ever be something else than the caricature of a mustache twirling vilain. Gee!

I don't care about whinning Mary and Matthew ("You have to give your money to papaaaa!" What is this a cult ?/ "I can't! I broke Lavinia's heart", repeated 10 times).

At least O'Brien and Thomas now hate each other! That should be entertaining (if not realsitic - how come they haven't lost their jobs yet!)

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 121

01/07/2013

This one works for me (courtesy of a fellow DLer), r117

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 122

01/07/2013

I cannot stand that Daisy girl, how annoying! Everything she does is obnoxious, she was a complete bitch in season 2 to the guy who was dying and wanted her to marry him. Now in season 3 she's bitching because she wants a new job. Thomas is also gross.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 123

01/07/2013

I'm not interested in seeing the show online. I get a better picture this way and I like having something to look forward to on a cold winter Sunday night. This is just the ticket.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 124

01/07/2013

Thomas the footman is now Lord Grantham's valet and is referred to by one and all as "Mr. Barrow."

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 125

01/07/2013

Matthew needs to spread his ass at the end of the intro then the camera can zoom in the hole, and that will be when the first scene of each episode starts.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 126

01/07/2013

I was hoping for a bachelor party with Tom and Matthew, a little too much drinking, Matthew giving head. Thomas getting in on the action and then the new valet screwing them all....

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 127

01/07/2013

Disgusting, R127.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 128

01/07/2013

I need the actor who plays Matthew in porn asap. He looks like he needs some black dick.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 129

01/07/2013

Agreed, R129 - some big-capacity blowjobs might firm up his jawline.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 130

01/07/2013

CNBC did a story on Downton Abbey last week and found that it takes $1.5 million a year to maintain an estate like Downton. That amount includes a full staff.

Fascinating article....

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 131

01/07/2013

Did they really need to hit us over the head with "the Crawleys have lost their shirts" similes throughout the show? Including "losing" their actual shirts?

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 132

01/07/2013

If you do not adore this show as I do, then you should be watching the Three Stooges! philistines!

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 133

01/07/2013

R74 yes and the best line of the night was when the old bitty (the Dowager Countess) said to her son, "I thought you were a waiter". LOL. She is priceless and the reason why I watch.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 134

01/07/2013

The real reason to wait and watch the show on PBS is to be able to appreciate threads like this between each episode.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 135

01/07/2013

[quote]The real reason to wait and watch the show on PBS is to be able to appreciate threads like this between each episode.

But threads like this one, too, were done a few months ago when the episodes aired in the UK.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 136

01/07/2013

R98 I haven't seen the rest of season 3 but I do believe you are a spoiler old man. Time for a duel at dawn!!!!

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 137

01/07/2013

I enjoyed last night but it was an hour and half stretched into two hours. Julian is too enamored of all his minor stories especially Daisy who has had her turn and should just STFU.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 138

01/07/2013

[quote] when the old bitty

It's "old biddy," not "old bitty."

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 139

01/07/2013

Bitty? Bitty, Mummy?

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 140

01/07/2013

I was wondering the same thing about the Turkish guy. Why did he tell Mary her virtue would remain intact? Oral? Anal? Heavy petting?

And if he was into anal he had a perfectly good offer from Thomas beforehand and turned him down. Like as if. Thomas would have satisfied him quite nicely.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 141

01/07/2013

I want Honey Boo Boo and Mama June to visit Downton Abbey for a special episode. I wonder what Maggie Smith would make of those two?

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 142

01/07/2013

R131. PBS did the same story "Secrets of Highclere Castle" for one hour both before and after the season premiere of 'Downton Abbey" last night. It was fascinating with interviews of the current lord and lady of the house (very down to earth and responsible) and all the renovation they've done to keep the house in good working order--and to welcome tourists, which keeps these house afloat these days.

Coming up...PBS will air another in this "Secrets" series featuring Althorp House, which is where Princess Diana grew up.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 143

01/07/2013

I was hoping OBrien's nephew would be gay and get it on with Thomas.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 144

01/07/2013

[quote]At least O'Brien and Thomas now hate each other! That should be entertaining (if not realsitic - how come they haven't lost their jobs yet!)

Best plot twist ever

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 145

01/07/2013

The "Did Lady Mary do anal?" question deserves its own thread.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 146

01/07/2013

[quote] The "Did Lady Mary do anal?" question deserves its own thread.

And, as a follow up question: did she follow a proper post-anal etiquette? Was Anna instructed to deliver a thank you note to the Turkish ambassador?

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 147

01/07/2013

You can watch or re-watch the first episode on PBS web site:

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 148

01/07/2013

Mary is such an insufferable cunt...

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 149

01/07/2013

Uh no R139 Old Bitty = old bitch. Look it up.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 150

01/07/2013

Poor Mrs. Patmore must be sick of playing the same scene with Daisy over and over again.

And why doesn't Mrs. Patmore ever wear her glasses? Wasn't there an entire episode about her going almost blind a couple of years ago?Has she since gotten contacts?

And where's Mr. Patmore? Did he run off with Mr. Hughes?

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 151

01/07/2013

Mrs. Patmore has never been married, nor has Mrs. Hughes. In those days, women in senior staff positions were always called Mrs. regardless of marital status.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 152

01/07/2013

How do you know Mrs. Patmore and Mrs. Hughes aren't widows, r152? Has their past been discussed on the show?

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 153

01/07/2013

Are there recent photos of the cast out of their Downton costumes and wigs?

I remember once seeing surprising photos of Patmore, Hughes and O'Brien.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 154

01/07/2013

R39 and R99: How do we watch Seasons 3 and 4 on the internet?

Points to R103 for knowing his china.

Good catch R132 for the "losing their shirts" comment. I didn't think of that. Excellent.

R144: I'm holding out hope Thomas will bed the new footman, Alfred Nugent. They're supposed to catch him in flagrante, and I'm sorry, but the ginge looks like he likes penis.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 155

01/07/2013

R151, Mrs. Patmore had surgery. (I think she had cataracts.)

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 156

01/07/2013

[quote] Uh no [R139] Old Bitty = old bitch. Look it up.

Nope, sorry. "Old bitty" is just a misspelling that people try to justify by adding it to made-up slang blogs on the Internet. It's "old biddy." it's always been old biddy.

Look it up.

In a [italic] real [/italic] dictionary.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 157

01/07/2013

Why hasn't anyone mentioned Sybil's pregnant belly? Or did the actress get fat in between season 2 and 3?

WTF happened to the wedding?! They've made us wait for it for two fucking seasons and... nothing.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 158

01/08/2013

Did anyone else notice Sybil had a little bit of lip hair in season 2?

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 159

01/08/2013

[quote]Did anyone else notice Sybil had a little bit of lip hair in season 2?

That's about to be the least of her problems.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 160

01/08/2013

r155, several links and addresses have been posted already. I'm surprised you were able to address specific posters and their posts and still miss the links to internet viewing.

And, no I won't look them up to reference them for your convenience. That's what you're suppposed to do.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 161

01/08/2013

[quote]And why doesn't Mrs. Patmore ever wear her glasses? Wasn't there an entire episode about her going almost blind a couple of years ago?Has she since gotten contacts?

I just had cataract surgery, a simple 15 minute outpatient procedure that was painless. However in the old days, it was a surgical operation that required a brief hospital stay. I no longer need to wear glasses or contacts. Only dime store reading glasses. I believe there was a scene where Mrs. Patmore was wearing glasses and reading something.

They now have special permanent lens implants that don't require reading glasses too.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 162

01/08/2013

[quote] WTF happened to the wedding?! They've made us wait for it for two fucking seasons and... nothing.

The PBS broadcasts are usually edited for time. The complete scenes are on the DVD UK edition that will be released later this month.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 163

01/08/2013

R161: Fuck you, you nasty bitch.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 164

01/08/2013

The brief mention of Cora's brother Harold makes me believe he is a bachelor. A middle aged bachelor. I think we all know what that means. My hope is he visits Downton, and he and Thomas fall in love. Harold takes him back to the US with him. They end up in Hollywood running a studio together (talking pictures, oh my!) and holding fabulous parties at their Bel Air mansion. Fellowes, make it happen.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 165

01/08/2013

R159 I think they're deliberately making Sybil look a bit unkempt as she no longer has staff to make her look good. And to the other poster who saw a baby bump, she is preggers. She told Cora in a letter in the last episode of season 2.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 166

01/08/2013

The new footman is hot. And I loved Maggie's line "I thought perhaps you were on stilts."

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 167

01/08/2013

r165, I LOVE your ideas! What a perfect fabulous spinoff!!!

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 168

01/08/2013

My favorite line was "I'm American, have guns will travel"

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 169

01/08/2013

r169 that was disturbing considering, maybe it was a subtle dig at the US gun craze

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 170

01/08/2013

Neither subtle nor disturbing.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 171

01/08/2013

The new staff member SERVES the food and hysteria almost ensues!

I'm so over this crap.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 172

01/08/2013

I hate Carson. He gets on my fucking nerves.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 173

01/08/2013

I watched the ITV version, and don't recall any additional material on Mary and Matthew's wedding, R163. Is there something else on the DVD?

It's common knowledge that PBS edits the material, which was obvious in their version on Sunday night. There did seem to be a bit of a jump between e end of the wedding scenes and Matthew and Mary driving back in the new car. If I recall, that's where the British version ended and the second episode began. PBS says that American audiences are too stupid to enjoy the slower pace of the ITV version, but I don't see where they cut anything, just took 20 minutes from episode 2 and appended to the premier to make it longer.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 174

01/08/2013

They show two episodes each week on PBS

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 175

01/08/2013

Will they ever bring back the gay duke (and Thomas' paramour)?

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 176

01/08/2013

Do you think O'Brien ends up in India with Shrimpie, Countess Grantham's soap and all...?

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 177

01/08/2013

R157 you are awfully self righteous. I will link it for you since you are the grammar nazi. If you don't like urban slang maybe you should go back to pre-war England where you belong.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 178

01/08/2013

To see if you can watch any episode of any program

Google:

watch ShowName SxEy

For example

Watch downton abbey s1e1

for season 1 episode 1

last years Christmas special was S2E9

this season in the US begins S3E1 through S3E9.

I could not find a stream for the Christmas S3E9 Special and had to download it. It was a keeper.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 179

01/08/2013

Urbandictionary.com is as reliable as other self-written and self-policed websites, like freerepublic.com and worldnetdaily.com.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 180

01/08/2013

So Lord Grantham gets all his shirts stolen from his own wardrobe, gets to appears looking like a waiter in front of all his guests, but all he does is question Thomas popularity, thinking that his valet might have brought the prank on himself. Well, he did. But wouldn't a lord be a bit more controlling of pranks taking place in his house if he is made the butt of the joke ?

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 182

01/08/2013

I think to the Lord (at least the way his character has been developed) the whole thing is not as big an outrage as it is, say, to the Dowager Countess.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 183

01/08/2013

You could have just said, "Thanks. I didn't know that and now I do," R181. It's what I say when people tell me the correct word I was looking for, thereby preventing me from repeating my error. Try telling your professor or your boss that his correction on one of your papers/reports is wrong because it's accepted on urbandictionary.com.

"Thanks. You learn something new every day. Moving on..." is also good.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 184

01/08/2013

R184 I'm just getting sick of reading your superiority b.s. Get a life and tell it to someone who actually cares fuckwad.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 185

01/08/2013

And btw dick at R132 / R184 "the Crawleys have lost their shirts" is not a simile, it's a metaphor. So just say thank you please.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 186

01/08/2013

I'd be concerned about my kitchen staff which doesn't appear to start preparing any of the food for dinner until about an hour before the guests arrive. And they've only one oven.

Mrs Bridges and Ruby would have had the desserts made the day before, sitting in the larder. They'd start cooking in the morning and keep cooked things heated in and atop a warmer stove until everything else was finished cooking. Even my grandmother had warming areas in her stove, plus a few ovens, plus burners. and she lived in a little house. A place the size of Downton Abbey doesn't have more than one oven? And the other cook at Cousin Isabel's house, Mrs Hughes, doesn't have an oven/stove and couldn't help out?

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 187

01/08/2013

Actually i take back what I said in R186 it's neither a simile nor a metaphor. It's merely symbolism. The missing shirts may perhaps be symbolic of the Crawleys losing their "shirts" in the stock market. But it most definitely isn't a simile.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 188

01/08/2013

Lord Grantham is a big fat crybaby, built like a ham. And I know from ham.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 189

01/08/2013

Chad Hedrick should guest star on downton abbey, they'd ask what's for dinner and he'd plop his ass right on the edge of the table.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 190

01/08/2013

r186, r188 I was about to comment that the figurative device re the lost shirts was more of an allegory, symbolism, or even a good old pun... but I'm glad you "figured" it out on your own.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 191

01/08/2013

Can we talk about how fat Thomas has gotten?

Yuck-o.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 192

01/08/2013

I was wondering if Ethel would be back. It had been so long since I'd seen her, I began to think maybe she'd been a character from the Upstairs Downstairs reboot.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 193

01/08/2013

The Upstairs/Downstairs reboot is looking mighty fine to me now, after seeing the DA Season 3 premiere!

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 194

01/08/2013

People died young back then. From war, accidents, lack of advanced medical treatment. So those who died this season sort of fit in with the reality of the times. People had large families hoping at least some of them would survive into adulthood.

Even royal families worried about it - an heir and a spare.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 195

01/08/2013

Cute

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 196

01/09/2013

Where did everyone get the idea that "Downton Abbey" is a documentary and not what it really is, a good old fashion pulp fiction soap opera? Plain and simple. No where does it have to be realistic. Shirley Maclaine was fine. Her character has to be the opposite of Maggie Smith. She has to get under her skin and for her to be exactly Maggie's equal in style and decorum would be ridiculous, there would be no conflict and they would sit there staring at each other sipping tea.

The producers of the PBS series “Masterpiece” had an office pool going to guess the premiere ratings for Season 3 of “Downton Abbey,” the British period drama that has improbably become one of America’s most-buzzed-about shows.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 198

01/09/2013

You are so right, R197. I spent parts of the two hours wishing ANOTHER WORLD had had this kind of budget with which to outfit the Cory estate (and the rest of Bay City). No show has so made me think of the soap I used to watch as DOWNTON ABBEY.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 199

01/09/2013

It's just a tv show but it's hard to believe they wouldn't have more than stove...except they might all be attached to the same stack...so would it have made a difference? With those old coal or wood burning stoves...they'd need a full time staff just to keep the floors clean.

In America, even the lower clases would hire a person to come in and clean the floors, they were always black with soot.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 200

01/09/2013

Is the guy in jail, actually guilty? I mean, his wife needed killing.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 201

01/09/2013

Has anyone been through Biltmore? I was surprised at how small the cooking area seemed. There were separate rooms for storage and refrigeration but the actual kitchen wasn't as big as I expected for such a huge estate and I only remember 1 stove but maybe there were others when the place was in use.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 202

01/09/2013

R201: We don't know. Up until this episode we were supposed to think Bates is innocent. Now they're doing a bit of ambiguous foreshadowing resulting in "Maybe he *did* kill her," which ties in nicely with the "If anyone needed killing, it was Vera" concept.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 203

01/09/2013

I hope he is guilty but gets off, comes back to Downton and O'Brien ends up dead in a closet.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 204

01/10/2013

So, who do you think Bates will kill next? Will he lose it around Thomas if he is freed?

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 205

01/10/2013

Does Bates participate in prison homosex?

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 206

01/10/2013

[quote]Does Bates participate in prison homosex?

Yes, but only with twinks.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 207

01/10/2013

The Bates story line is a complete and total waste

I am not sure why they are dedicating so much time to it? He seems to always be the victim.

I don't care about it and I would not miss him if he left the show.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 208

01/10/2013

But what ARE the storylines we care about?

Matthew and Mary's happiness?

Bates' guilt?

Mrs. Hughes breast cancer?

Lady Edith's unfortunate alliance?

Daisy's promotion?

Sybil and the Irish Problem?

Lord Grantham's imminent financial ruin?

Thomas the Footman's receding jawline?

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 209

01/10/2013

I understand it's a period piece about life a century ago, but Mary is such a bitch, she wanted to use her grandmother and convince her to pay for their oversized mansion because her daddy didn't invest in the right stocks? Put her ass on the street and let her streetwalk like the maid who had a baby.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 210

01/10/2013

Why doesn't Dame Maggie have a storyline? She plays the one character everyone loves.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 211

01/10/2013

Mary is a total bitch. I cannot stand her. I cannot believe her sister would even speak to her after she convinced her suitor not to propose to her.

The entire family seems to be focused around Mary, her wants and desires.

Basically her grandmother should bail out the family so that when she is older she can take her rightful place @ Downton Abbey. She does it under the guise of being able to employee so many people but at the end of the day it is all about her.

She is one vapid bitch

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 212

01/10/2013

If I were Lady Mary I'd let my American grandmother whisk me away to New York to have fun on the Levinson dime. DA would seem deadly dull compared to everything else that was happening in the 20s.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 213

01/10/2013

The staff storylines can be boring as well, did Daisy even have to ask why the british guy liked the American. I love how they get all heated up over a staff member messing up as if anything they are doing REALLY matters.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 214

01/10/2013

The most awesome thing ever...

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 215

01/10/2013

Who are the idiots thinking you have to watch what you download from the net on your computer? That was about ten years ago. Every show I watch I download and watch on my tv in HD and I haven't seen a commercial in about six years.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 216

01/11/2013

Is Series 3 available to watch online without paying Hulu or Amazon?

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 217

01/11/2013

.....Who are the idiots thinking you have to watch what you download from the net on your computer? .....

Don`t know. Not sure where you got that impression.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 218

01/11/2013

Christ, some of you people are dense. Here are your various online viewing options:

1) Watch full-length streaming video of each week's show on PBS.org. It may take a day or two after original airing for it to be uploaded.

2) Forget about iTunes, Amazon or Hulu: it's not available at any of the three.

3) If you wish to "cheat" and watch all of the original British episodes, download BitTorrent (do so at download.com), go to thepiratebay.se, and search for "Downton Abbey." The shows are listed in the following format: Downtown Abbey S02E01 (season two, episode 1). Download one that has a lot of people uploading and downloading at the same time, since that usually means it's a good copy. Once you've downloaded it, you'll need to watch it on a video player that can play just about any format; the best is VLC, which is available for PC and Mac and is entirely free. You can download it, too, at download.com. All of the commercials will have been edited out on your behalf, another plus.

As for this season, I won't give away any of the *good* spoilers, but Mrs Hughes's breast cancer thing goes nowhere (she's fine) and Bates is exonerated. There are also a number of plot twists this year that come very close to the proverbial jumping-the-shark, including ones you've already seen like the Earl's son just happening to have enough in his estate to save Downton. Finally, don't get too excited about Shirley; she's gone by the third episode and not likely to return.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 219

01/11/2013

I chose to watch DA on tv on Sunday nights in January because ..... well, because it's January. There's nothing to look forward to in January (I hate sports). I like the old Sunday night tradition of shows like Lark Rise, Cranford and others.

On the other hand, I refuse to watch Breaking Bad on AMC because of the constant commercial interruptions. I'll wait until Netflix or Amazom presents Season 5 without commercials.

I don't mind waiting to see tv shows the way I prefer to see them

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 220

01/11/2013

Shirley was a total waste of something. I don't know if the script was just bad or Shirl is past it, but Zzzzzzzzzz. How many times can you say 'In America...'

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 221

01/12/2013

[quote]Christ, some of you people are dense. Here are your various online viewing options:

Must you be such a twat, My Dear? This is America. "Downton Abbey" is a British show that has aired it's entire run in Great Britain. I was asking if BBC or whatever station broadcast it was streaming the past aired episodes. I clearly have no interest in illegally downloading torrents. But I thank you for your prompt response. Now shove a Crumpet up your ass.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 222

01/12/2013

[quote] -I think Bates did kill Vera.

I do too.

I also just realized that Vera was played by the same actress who played Queen Catherine of Aragon in "The Tudors," Maria Doyle Kennedy.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 223

01/13/2013

R223- She also played one of the baby sitters on DEXTER but they never really developed her character, didn't go anywhere.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 224

01/13/2013

thanks R224. I saw DEXTER listed in her credits on IMDB, but it's not one of the shows I've ever watched. I'm only watching "The Tudors" now via Amazon Prime.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 225

01/13/2013

r222, the poster you were yelling at was not talking about illegaly downloading torrents - streaming is not the same thing at all.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 226

01/13/2013

OMG Edith dumped at the altar. I'm sure he's gay anyway

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 227

01/13/2013

I wish I was watching this instead of GGs.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 228

01/13/2013

Someone mocked me for leaving the GG thread to watch DA.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 229

01/13/2013

Poor Edith. Maybe she should have a fling with a servant.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 230

01/13/2013

Foster is trying TOO hard.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 231

01/13/2013

What?!!!!!!!!!!!!!

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 232

01/13/2013

Edith truly is Jan Brady.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 233

01/13/2013

I feel sorry for Edith.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 234

01/13/2013

Hey, guys, back on NBS Jodie Foster came out.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 235

01/13/2013

Thomas was looking very delicious this week.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 236

01/13/2013

I don't think Bates did kill his wife. That woman's description of Mrs Bates having made pastry and cleaning powder out of her nose is meaningful. She also mentions a halo around her. Mrs Bates may have been trying to build up a resistance to arsenic, so that she could poison Bates while remaining unaffected herself. But she may have miscalculated how much arsenic to take which would cause resistance and not death.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 237

01/13/2013

How old is Sir Antony Straight Arm supposed to be? Based on the time period, he looks to be in his late 40s, perhaps early 50s. He's not decrepit. I could understand if John Hurt or Peter O'Toole or Ian McKellan or Albert Finney were playing the part. But come on....

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 238

01/13/2013

Dear Edith,

Payback is a bitch

Sincerely,

Poor Mr Pamouk

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 239

01/13/2013

I think Sir Anthony should have been played by Bill Wyman or Charlie Watts.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 240

01/13/2013

Dame Maggie's bon mots haven't been very bon lately.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 241

01/13/2013

Poor, Edith.

I giggled at Maggie's line: If the poor don't want it (the leftovers) bring it to me.

Not so much for the line, but from the look from Mary as she said it.

In the good old days, Violet and Cora would be conspiring over tea about what the hell to do about Edith now. Probably won't happen.

I heard in future episodes you can play a good drinking game based on the number of times Bossy Ma Crawley says prostitute.

Matthew is a tortured wimp. He deserves to die.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 242

01/13/2013

I feel so sorry for Lady Edith. Bless her heart.

Both Matthew and Lady Mary need to get off the cross because we need the wood. Dear God these two are miserable.

I still want Tom Branson and his huge uncut cock deep in me.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 243

01/14/2013

Matthew is FAT. He looked like a sausage in that robe.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 244

01/14/2013

Matthew is fat, and chinless, and boring. He is the worst link in the show. Please please please kill that dull boy off.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 245

01/14/2013

They already did... you got your wish.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 246

01/14/2013

I have to say Matthew was very annoying last night. Take the money asshole! What's with the maid turned hooker? Illegitimate child of someone in the house? I can't really remember her from last season. Did she screw Lord Grantham or anyone else?

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 247

01/14/2013

If Ethel wants her kid to have a better life, then why doesn't she say it already instead of fucking strangers in front of him? Just tell Cousin Isobel to give him to someone in her parish and keep Ethel informed on his whereabouts.

Or are they going to drag it out until Lord and Lady Gratham adopt him after Matthew croaks it? or will Cousin Isobel adopt him?

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 248

01/14/2013

You can watch the entire new season on a site called tubeplus.me ( there is no downloading of torrents invloved btw) You may have to install a DIVX player but thats about it. watched the whole seaon....right until the end where Branson and his Irish terrorist pals kill Lord Grantham, kidnap Mary and burn Downton Abby down to the ground.

They also were about to rape Lady Edith , but the bag fell off her head and no one could go through with it after that.

Ethel's baby was fathered by a creep officer who was recovering at Downton when it was a military hospital during the war. The officer was killed in battle. His parents rejected the baby, I think?

I'm wondering if Bates and Anna will adopt the baby while Ethel goes off to be an actress.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 252

01/14/2013

What happens, with Violet's heartfelt assistance, is what soap operas are made of.

Add a vampire and Downton Abby is Dark Shadows...

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 253

01/14/2013

[quote] His parents rejected the baby, I think?

No his rich parents wanted to take the baby and raise him and have Ethel disappear. She refused.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 254

01/14/2013

Just watched the episode. What happened to Martha? Did she go back home without saying goodbye?

I agree with the above posters who say Matthew/Dan Stevens is insufferable. I won't miss him but I doubt Dan will find much better work after being seen in the series this season. He will disappear from the American consciousness quicker than you can say Jeremy Northam.

And I don't care if Sybil is pregnant. Actress does look husky....not pregnant.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 255

01/14/2013

Just this weekend watched seasons 1 and 2 on HULU Plus. Caught season 3, episode one online at PBS.org before watching an actual broadcast last night on PBS.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 256

01/15/2013

Maggie Smith looks so much older on Downton Abbey than in her new film Quartet. Where does the truth lie?

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 257

01/15/2013

Bert is that you at r251??

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 258

01/15/2013

Okay, the Ethel story line is coming back. I'd forgotten about the womanizing soldier. Didn't the parents only reject the kid when Ethel wouldn't let them cut her out of the kid's life?

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 259

01/15/2013

So tell me about the heirs of an earldom. Does it have to come from a male or in this case can one of the daughters have a son and pass it on that way? If Matthew dies this season before impregnating his wife, if a son is born to the chaffeur's wife become heir?

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 260

01/15/2013

Why do so many people get killed off of this show? It's ridiculous at this point.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 261

01/15/2013

Good Christ! It's a soap opera. It's why people watch. Matthew's son -- there'll be one -- inherits the title.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 262

01/15/2013

Does anyone know where to watch Season Two for free?

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 263

01/15/2013

The principal rule governing inheritance is how the Earldom was granted. Usually it's to heirs male of the body. There is also the concept of primogeniture, which means males first in inheritance.

Typically heirs to earldoms follow like this:

The heir is the living Earl's first born son. If the first born son dies before inheriting, a second son would inherit, a third and so on. Daughters seldom inherit titles, though its happened.

If there is no direct heir to the living Earl (and born from a marriage... bastards don't count) succession typically reverts to men of the previous Earl's line. So if the present Earl is the 6th Earl, you go back to the male descendants of the 5th Earl. So if the 6th Earl had a younger brother, he would inherit and then his sons thereafter. If that doesn't work, you go back to the 4th Earl.

In Downton, the original heir to Grantham, who was rich in daughters but not sons, was his cousin James. I assume that means Grantham's father had a brother, Grantham's uncle, but that uncle was dead. Which meant his son, who was called James, was Grantham's cousin and heir. James had a son, Patrick, who was next in line. They both went down on the Titanic... Chinless what's his name... Matthew... was a third cousin or something. I am not sure how they explained him but they had to make him distant enough it wasn't too gross that one of the Crawley girls would marry him to keep Cora's money in the family.

I don't know if this is part of primogeniture, but the convention was the entire estate (not the house, the total value of property and assets) went in the majority if not entirety to the heir in order to protect and preserve the estate in its bulk. If there was anything left in the will to other children, it generally wasn't much for that reason. Basically, it sucked being a girl or second son or beyond.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 264

01/15/2013

They kill off a lot of people because a) the actors are leaving to try other things and b) in many respects they can just afford to. British TV 'seasons' are called series and generally don't run for more than eight episodes.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 265

01/15/2013

I think Dan Stevens was crazy to leave "Downton Abbey." It's a major hit show on both sides of the Atlantic, and a gig any actor would kill to get. What does he expect to find in Hollywood? I honestly don't see how his looks and his 'type' would fit into the Hollywood mold.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 266

01/15/2013

The inheritance letter to Matthew was such a ham-fisted plot device.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 267

01/15/2013

Dan Stevens might do well in period pieces but beyond that I do not see much of a future for him.

Perhaps if he becomes more lean he might be more appealing to casting directors. In his current shape I think he is a little to chubby to become a leading romantic lead.

That being said, he is foolish to leave a hit international show. Given that he only films 9 episodes per year, I would think he would have the opportunity to do other things outside of Downton if he desired.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 268

01/15/2013

He's certainly not megastar bound but he'll do fine... he's a name now in the UK and will be presumably business enough between English films, television and stage. He'll still do better than most. English actors or at least the English system seems more about work and less about megastardom.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 269

01/15/2013

How did i miss the explanation re Mcclain's whereabouts. You'd think julian fellowes would've kept her character around for the wedding. she then could've scooped up Edith, taking her to America to save face & find a rich American hubby, killing two birds.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 270

01/15/2013

Edith really needs to start taking control of her life. I've never understood parents who give other kids more attention, she should cut them off completely and live with her grandmother Shirley Maclaine.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 271

01/15/2013

[quote] it wasn't too gross that one of the Crawley girls would marry him to keep Cora's money in the family.

Wasn't one or two of the daughters in love with their second cousin, who went down on the Titanic?

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 272

01/15/2013

Edith claimed she was in love with him but Edith was generally in love with every man who came to the front door.

Mary, Duchess of Pragmatism, had an understanding that she would marry the cousin to keep the money in the family, but she really didn't give a fuck.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 273

01/15/2013

Yes, the obvious answer to all of Edith's problems would be to go to Ameirca with her Granny Martha.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 274

01/15/2013

r271, do not forget that this is set in the 19th century.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 275

01/15/2013

Huh, the last time I looked, 1921 was firmly set in the 20th Century.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 276

01/15/2013

At Edith's wedding you could hear "Jesu, Joy Of Man's Desiring" being played on the organ. Though the Bach canata on which it's based "Herz und Mund und Tat und Leben" had been around for centuries, that arrangement for piano or organ wasn't published until 1926.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 277

01/17/2013

Downton Abbey anachronisms, from an article published last year

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 278

01/17/2013

For those who have already watched Season 3 can you let us know if Thomas the Footman's new gay story line finally kicks in in Episode #3?

I am so tired of this phenomenal and original character being shunted off to nothing but snarling, dog-napping and smoking in pantry corners for 2&1/2 seasons.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 279

01/19/2013

Highclere Castle...another back story to Downton Abbey. Interesting how the bastard daughter of a Rothschild was able to use family money to save Highclere.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 280

01/19/2013

Poor old Robin Ellis. He didn't do much after Poldark ended. Jean Marsh didn't do much after Upstairs Downstairs ended. Took 40 years to get another recurrent gig.

Derek Jacoby, John Rhys Davies and Patrick Stewart did pretty well after, "I, Clauduis." John Hurt was already an established tv/movie actor by the time he appeared in Claudius. Sian Philips does more theater than tv or movies. She's had a good, steady career as a character actress. I guess I, Claudis was a big breakout for a lot of actors.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 281

01/19/2013

I missed it last week, so what happened?

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 282

01/19/2013

Here ya go, R282

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 283

01/19/2013

R283 that's very funny.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 284

01/19/2013

[quote] Does anyone know where to watch Season Two for free?

Amazon Prime, if you're in the US. You can sign up free for a month, then cancel if you don;t want to keep it when the month is up.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 285

01/20/2013

Isn't the paw littoo Cholly's grandad the real life bf of the housekeeper, Mrs Hughes?

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 286

01/20/2013

Thomas is in love.....

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 287

01/20/2013

Okay, Branson is an idiot for whining about going back to Ireland.

Thomas is in lust but is the new guy gay or just a player? Something's up with him.

Daisy needs to get some balls and go for her man before the new maid gets him.

Is it just me or does Mary and Matthew's marriage seem rocky already? The honeymoon is over and they argue more often than not.

Edith will become a suffragist and campaign for women's rights and hopefully get laid soon.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 288

01/20/2013

The new chap is a little piece of Heaven.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 289

01/20/2013

It's no longer free with Amazon Prime. Season One and Two remain free but you have to pay for season three. Prime was such a success that it's costing Amazon a bundle.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 290

01/20/2013

Wiww Effew return?

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 291

01/20/2013

[quote]It's no longer free with Amazon Prime. Season One and Two remain free but you have to pay for season three. Prime was such a success that it's costing Amazon a bundle.

Yeah well I tried the one month free offer, cancelled after two weeks, and guess what surprise I had on my bank statement today?

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 292

01/20/2013

Why didn't Allen Leech have his shirt off when he was getting into bed with Lady Sybil? Arggh.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 293

01/20/2013

And finally they acknowledge that Robert is not so smart. In fact, he's pretty dumb.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 294

01/20/2013

see link on amazon shipping costs.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 295

01/20/2013

Yeah, seems Lord Grantham sucks at managing his estate but I thought most aristocrats had estate managers at that time.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 296

01/20/2013

The previews made it seem that James was confiding to O'Brien that Thomas was too familiar. That bitch is out for him.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 297

01/20/2013

[quote]That bitch is out for him.

Do you blame her? He told Cara she was quitting.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 298

01/20/2013

I assume you mean Cora, Countess of Grantham.

Cara, if I can see precisely into the future, is one of those horribly common forenames bestowed in a bid to appear stylish. As if stylish were something one would want to appear.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 299

01/20/2013

Doesn't anyone else realize how ridiculously small the servant staff is when one looks at the exterior of Downtown Abbey?

From that viewpoint, the place obviously has hundreds of wings and rooms. I realize they're not all filled with residents but still, just the maintenance of a place that size would surely call for fleets of servants and an estate manager would be an imperative position.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 300

01/20/2013

The number of servants is probably not all that far off the mark. They have extras in the shots of the servants hall and downstairs, to imply there's more staff than actual play roles in the show.

I read the Astors had thirty indoor servants at Cliveden in 1920. The layout is different but it would have been a comparable estate compared to Downton/Highclere.

r296, wait a few episodes for a surprise resignation and a Downton saving appointment.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 303

01/20/2013

I must have missed something but why is the guy in the cell with Bates out to get him? Could he have something to do with the dead wife?

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 304

01/21/2013

That whole Bates storyline is a muddy tedious mess that needs to get resolved STAT!

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 305

01/21/2013

And take Mrs. Crawley with him.

And Matthew and his simpering, for that matter.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 306

01/21/2013

If only....

Mary would stop whining... Edith would put on some make up... Matthew could develop a chin... Thomas could have sex... Bates could lose some weight on that skimpy prison food... Anna could find a back bone... Robert could live in reality... Julian Fellowes could learn to write....

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 307

01/21/2013

OK, I'm a 1920s scullery maid, but my God, my mouth fell open when the new footman appeared.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 308

01/21/2013

I found it really creepy when Matthew was talking to Mary about why she'd been to the doctor and where they'd put the nursery, etc. He sounded and looked like he was planning a murder or a sick practical joke, not talking about pregnancy.

And I wondered how Mary and poor Mr Pamouk had gotten on in the sack. Yeah sure, he died but I'll bet he was dynamite before he gasped his last. Poor Mary now has to sleep with this heavily mascara'd, hair highlighted paleface when she'd had a hot, throbbing, dark meat drumstick before her marriage to Matthew Milquetoast.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 309

01/21/2013

In the contest between O'Brien and Thomas - I would put money down on O'Brien.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 310

01/21/2013

Next week's previews look great with the Thomas and O'Brien feud going to heat up.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 311

01/21/2013

Why are there only 7 episodes per season?

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 312

01/21/2013

the O'Brien/Thomas feud is getting good. And the new footman is dreamy.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 313

01/21/2013

He looks like an attractive Simon Baker.

I don't know why the British do such limited seasons. They always have. It's just how they do things.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 314

01/21/2013

And the shows are usually better for it, r314.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 315

01/22/2013

[quote]Thomas is in lust but is the new guy gay or just a player? Something's up with him.

In the previews for next week's episode we see him complaining about Thomas's undue attentions. I think Thomas is barking up the wrong tree.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 316

01/22/2013

[quote] Why are there only 7 episodes per season?

I'm guessing it's an expensive show to film. And it will make more profit with fewer shows.

It's partially funded by PBS and they are always cutting PBS funding here in the US.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 317

01/22/2013

British shows are almost always what we would call a mini-series. Limited runs and fewer episodes per season. Exceptions being Dr. Who and EastEnders.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 318

01/22/2013

[quote]Isn't Violet a low class name for an English dowager countess?

No, you're misinformed.

Edward VII's wealthy socialite mistress Mrs. Keppel named her daughter "Violet" in the Edwardian period (she became the writer Violet Trefusis). And the Prime Minister, H. H. Asquith, named his daughter Violet (she later married into the Bonham Carter family--she's Helena's grandmother--and was Winston Churchill's best friend).

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 319

01/22/2013

r320 is having a little meltdown right now because she's tired and emotional, and she would like just to be left alone for a minute or two while she gets her shit together.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 321

01/22/2013

r320, your screeching is getting tiresome. Please let it go.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 322

01/22/2013

Christ R320. Maybe some of us enjoy waiting to watch it with friends while drinking some wine together. Besides sitting at my desk watching something on a small screen is not fun or as comfortable as my sofa.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 323

01/22/2013

R320 keeps posting because OCD idiots keep answering him.

He who talks to trolls, gets trolls to talk to.

All you need do is ignore a troll. If your mental disease precludes you from doing this effective troll treat,ent, then just write "DNR."

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 324

01/22/2013

I think the new footman is leading Thomas on, then making a complaint so Thomas will get axed and he can get Thomas' position. Whether the new guy is gay or not probably doesn't matter.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 325

01/24/2013

Didn't know Dan Stevens is a bleached blond.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 326

01/24/2013

325 -- good catch. That would be why he posed with his chest bared for Thomas while they were talking.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 327

01/24/2013

Dame Maggie signed for season four

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 328

01/24/2013

Season 3 is not very good. Why would Dame Maggie sign on for Season 4? Must be for the money but I thought they didn't get paid that much?

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 329

01/24/2013

It's a great gig for Dame Maggie, why shouldn't she sign on for Season 4? She sits around a lot, learns a few lines now and then. She's hardly in every scene and she usually gets the best lines.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 330

01/24/2013

Dame Maggie...."learns a few lines"....."usually gets the best lines"....

You do realize, she ad-libs most her best lines, don't you?

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 331

01/24/2013

And you know how many lines she adlibs, how, R331?

Yeah, one line in Gosford Park and she's a brilliant writer.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 332

01/24/2013

Dame Maggie told me this herself over tea yesterday, r332.

Do you think I have reason not to believe her?

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 333

01/24/2013

.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 334

01/27/2013

Dame Maggie makes the show. Whether she ad-libs or not, her timing and phrasing are impeccable and she steals every scene that she's in.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 335

01/27/2013

Thomas finally gets going tonight!

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 337

01/27/2013

So Syb...

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 338

01/27/2013

That was really sad.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 339

01/27/2013

Good episode for a change.

But was that it for Thomas' flirtation?

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 340

01/27/2013

Oh, crap. I cried.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 341

01/27/2013

I cried because Thomas and Jimmy did not get to bed yet.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 342

01/27/2013

Jimmy is not even interested and Thomas is going to get in trouble.

I had a good cry also.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 343

01/27/2013

Maggie Smith is coasting with this character... no disrespect... it's easy and fun to play. But in a few lines with Carson she showed what a great actress she is... the low pitch of her voice... great scene.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 344

01/27/2013

That was a crappy episode -- even though I cried. The doctors' argument was kind of stupid, and it seemed clear that Tom had gone with Lady Cora's advice... but then it seemed that he hadn't. In the meantime, Mary is constantly whining and unpleasant, Edith constantly feels slighted and unloved, Robert is constantly a bore, and Matthew constantly still doesn't have a chin.

The one really great thing in the episode were the clever digs that Mrs Crawley got in at the cook, especially the one where the cook says she just wants to be a plain old cook, and Mrs. Crawley basically looks at her face and says, "You don't have to worry about that." Mrs. Crawley and Lady Cora are really the only two strong-minded characters in the entire show.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 345

01/27/2013

It was a bit of a redeeming moment for busy body Isobel Crawley. She's finally found a cause without her usual sanctimony.

I like Mary. She isn't always likeable but she's got strength and she knows her own mind. She's very much like her grandmother before her grandmother apparently said fuck it, let them sweat it out, I'll just be a bitch.

The one character who's change I marvel at is Robert. In season one he was this gentle, honourable man. Now he's a total booby. It's an interesting case of a man who's outlived an era where he had a place. He's kind of Ashley Wilkes with a belly.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 346

01/27/2013

didn't see that coming. And Thomas better watch out or he'll be burned. But I'd love to see them fuck.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 347

01/27/2013

Christ, some of you just bitch to be heard.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 348

01/27/2013

Someone before the season began, said she would die.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 349

01/27/2013

I heard two deaths and if she is one of them and Dan Stevens is the other that is good news that the rumors of Maggie Smith's character dying are wrong. No spoilers please from the British viewers or those who have already seen it.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 350

01/27/2013

Why is Bates no longer limping? In Season 1, he walked like he was the hunchback of Notre Dame. Now he's just skipping through the prison hallways.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 351

01/27/2013

Why do Mary and Sybil get breakfast in bed, but poor Edith has to dress and appear in the dining room to get her breakfast?

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 352

01/27/2013

Bubba limbered him up in the joint.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 353

01/27/2013

I just hope they give Thomas a happy ending.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 354

01/27/2013

Is Dan Stevens the Shelley Long of Downton Abbey?

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 355

01/27/2013

Only married women get breakfast in bed. It's just one of the rules.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 356

01/27/2013

Would Robert set up Branson if he insists on taking his daughter back to Ireland and bringing her up Roman Catholic?

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 357

01/27/2013

Those poor servants. Stay up late for a birth, wake up early for a death. No wonder O'Brien and Thomas are so mean. I would be too if I got so little sleep.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 358

01/27/2013

Edith prefers dining with the men. After being jolted she said something or other about getting up instead.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 359

01/27/2013

[quote]I just hope they give Thomas a happy ending.

I can't imagine that happening.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 360

01/27/2013

I heard that Sybil appears in the last episode with Anne Hathaway singing "Come with me, where chains will never bind you".

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 361

01/27/2013

[qquote]where the cook says she just wants to be a plain old cook,

It wasn't a dig. She said that in Manchester there were positions for a "good plain cook" and Mrs Crawley said they'd be getting one.

'Plain Cook' was a term in service, not in any way an insult. It meant someone trained to provide daily meals for a person, family or household but not necessarily for entertaining. Mrs Crawley agreeing with the cook was actually being generous.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 362

01/27/2013

Why is it that the servants (Carson in particular) act like they have something to say about how Branson and Ethel are to be treated or regarded in the household? Isn't that for the Crawley's to decide?

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 363

01/27/2013

In the next episode, Cole Porter comes to visit Downton Abbey and ends up chasing Thomas around the drawing room.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 364

01/27/2013

r362, it was definitely meant as a double entendre.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 365

01/27/2013

Why don't they write in a beau for Lady Crawley?

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 366

01/27/2013

Why the hell do you watch the show, r345?

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 367

01/27/2013

You didn't hear it from me, but at the end of Season 3, Sebastian Flyte shows up and whisks Thomas away. They fly to Morocco, have sex change operations and change their names to Edina and Patsy.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 368

01/27/2013

Wonderful show tonight. It's been a long time coming - this show has been coasting on its popularity for far too long and not really giving us quality story. Tonight, everyone hit it out of the park with the death scene. Even Ms McGovern, who has been so ridiculous as Cora; tonight, however, she was great as a mother horrified by and grieving over her daughter's death.

I'm impressed that Fellowes has slowed down the stories a bit. Last season, Bates would have been imprisoned and out of this mess and onto being a valet in one episode. I'm still surprised that the Bates prison story is STILL going on. Hopefully, repercussions from Sybil's death will be felt over more than just one or two episodes.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 369

01/27/2013

[quote] I'm impressed that Fellowes has slowed down the stories a bit.

But some of the writing is still crap. The whole doctors arguing scenes went on way too long.

The only question now is will Robert or Cora become the alcoholic over the death? You know there's going to be an alcoholic.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 370

01/27/2013

That synopsis of the episode at HuffPo was really homophobic.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 371

01/28/2013

I don't think the doctors arguing went on too long. It helped build tension. It was old-time television.

I am convinced the audience has changed in that our attention span demands constant wam-bam-thank-you-m'ams.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 372

01/28/2013

The help certainly are judgemental. Sheesh! You are the help. The servants. Put down the hater-ade. Seriously, folks.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 373

01/28/2013

Michelle Dockery has fucked up eyebrows!!!!!!

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 374

01/28/2013

[quote]Isn't that for the Crawley's to decide?

The show certainly takes a few liberties in the name of drama.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 375

01/28/2013

An international hit show. The SAG Award for drama ensemble cast. And they kill off Sybill. She must be pissed to be out of a job.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 376

01/28/2013

Holly Shit they killed off Sybill!!!!!!!

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 377

01/28/2013

Mary, what a bitch. No wonder Edith is so screwed up. There they are, standing over poor Sybill's lifeless body and Edith tries to make amends and asks Mary if she thinks they can get along better in the future. Mary says, "Doubt it, but let's love each other right now while the three of us are together for the last time."

Edith should have slapped her. Mary won't even try to love and understand her sister. Beeyotch!

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 378

01/28/2013

I've only been watching for awhile but no one in the "family" seems very likable, I guess even back then most wealthy people were thoughtless and self absorbed but I agree with R378 Mary is a cunt of the highest order.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 379

01/28/2013

Mary wants Downton; she always has. Edith is too nice and too weak. Sybill is dead. Mary is only being shrewd, not cunty. She broke up the meeting her husband was having without her father involved in no uncertain terms.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 380

01/28/2013

If seems you lot have not got to Thomas's story yet and its amusing conclusion ...... maybe next week then. Presumably we can't talk about it until then.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 381

01/28/2013

Tom needs some comforting, in the form of a Thomas-Jimmy manwich

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 382

01/28/2013

[quote]Tom needs some comforting, in the form of a Thomas-Jimmy manwich

Your manwich is missing ingredients.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 383

01/28/2013

My apologies, I failed to differentiate between Thomas and Tom. Go ahead with the manwich!...Please!

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 384

01/28/2013

[quote]She's very much like her grandmother before her grandmother apparently said fuck it, let them sweat it out, I'll just be a bitch.

Which grandmother?

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 386

01/28/2013

[quote]Only married women get breakfast in bed. It's just one of the rules.

Why do you suppose that was? Did it have anything to do with a society woman's place in bed creating heirs and/or satisfying the master of the house?

BTW, Lady Edith addressed her proper place at breakfast after getting dumped at the altar. Refusing breakfast in bed, she said something to the effect of being unmarried and that she belonged at the table, didn't she.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 387

01/28/2013

I guess, r387, the theory was that a wife was exausted from a night of ... you know ... stuff. Whereas an unmarried woman would not have experience such ... stuff.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 388

01/28/2013

Glad you have all finally seen this episode.

Allen Leech was brilliant. His sobbing and begging her over and over "please don't leave me" and "wake up darlin'" was hands down the most gut-wrenching thing of the series.

Elizabeth McGovern comes off wonderfully in the upcoming episodes as well. It's good to see her have a backbone and grieve.

And if you think Mary was a bitch before -- she really cranks it up at the end of the season, hopefully setting her up for some journey next season to be a better person.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 389

01/28/2013

Downton Etiquette Explained - Series 3, Episode 4

Breakfasts at Downton

There have been many scenes at the breakfast table during the three series - if you cast your minds back to the very first episode of series 1, Lord Grantham was at the breakfast table when he received the letter to inform him of the sinking of the Titanic.

In English houses, breakfast was the only meal a gentleman would serve himself and you will see - as in last night's installment - that the breakfast foods are laid out on the sideboard behind the table.

Married ladies would often choose to have breakfast in bed (i.e. they were 'served'), which is why there was the debate as to what Lady Edith should now be doing.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 390

01/28/2013

I was surprised that even Thomas seemed upset over Sybil. He's always such an unfeeling jerk.

Did he ever display any warmth and friendliness towards Sybil that I missed?

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 391

01/28/2013

I don't think Mary is so much a cunt but rather that she has an appreciation for, and want to hold onto, the "old" ways. Like when she was explaining to Matthew that a country estate is responsible for taking care of a lot of people. Of course her delivery was condescending, but still...

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 392

01/28/2013

r367, the person at r345 doesn't seem to have watched the show. The exchange between the cook and Mrs. Crawley about the prostitute was--

Cook: Suppose people come to think that I had followed the same profession as what she has.

Mrs. Crawley: Nobody could look at you and think that.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 393

01/28/2013

r391, Thomas and Sybil worked together in the hospital during WWI; they joined forces to help a blinded soldier who eventually committed suicide.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 394

01/28/2013

Ah, I forgot about that R394. Thanks. Now I do remember and how upset he was over the poor guy's suicide.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 395

01/28/2013

How does Sybill die? I have the show on my DVR but haven't watched it yet. I do believe that they are grooming Allen Leech who plays her husband, to take over for Dan Stevens next season.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 396

01/28/2013

I briefly caught a bit of the SAG Awards red carpet coverage on CNN and saw the reporter talk to "the cast of Downton Abbey" (the actors who play Ethel, Daisy, Tom and Mrs. Hughes, allf of whom were dressed to the nines and looked gorgeous). I felt bad for them that they were never introduced by their names, only by their characters' names.

When asked what other show they were rooting for, they unanimously and enthusiastically said "Breaking Bad!" Good taste.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 397

01/28/2013

[quote]How does Sybill die? I have the show on my DVR but haven't watched it yet.

She dies of eclampsia after giving birth. It was very season-one-of-E.R.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 398

01/28/2013

I was disappointed not to see more DA cast members at the SAG Awards last night, especially since they won and got up to the platform to accept.

Mrs. Hughes (sorry, can't remember her real name ) made the acceptance speech with an enormous Scottish burr and seemed like such a dear, dear lady! And Amy Nuttall who plays Ethel looked to be a real stunner....probably the prettiest girl on the show. Michelle Dockery just looked glum and dark. Only others attending were Sophie McShera (Daisy) in bright yellow and Allen Leech (Branson).

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 399

01/28/2013

I thought that Mrs. Crawley made a dig at her cook, too. It's as if the cook expected Mrs. Crawley to keep her and ditch the idea of hiring Ethel, and Mrs. Crawley was having none of it. The look on cook's face was priceless.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 400

01/28/2013

Is the new blond haired footman in the staff going accept Thomas's advances?

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 401

01/28/2013

what happened with the plot point of Mrs Patmore going blind?? Did she wind up getting glasses? If so, she doesnt wear any

Why are Thomas and Obrien now adversaries? did I miss what went down between them>

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 402

01/28/2013

Yes, Mrs Bird definitely thought Isobel was going to beg her to stay and was in for a surprise that her bluff was called.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 403

01/28/2013

Second footman William is a hottie! So many actors in this series are very handsome! Many English men are very, very handsome anyway.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 404

01/28/2013

Lord Grantham paid for Mrs Patmore's cataract surgery last season.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 405

01/28/2013

[quote]what happened with the plot point of Mrs Patmore going blind?? Did she wind up getting glasses? If so, she doesnt wear any.

They sent her to hospital for cataract surgery. Back then it was a big deal and required a hospital recovery period. I had cataract surgery two weeks ago and it's now done out patient, local antheshia, not put to sleep and no pain. Procedure for one eye took about 20 minutes. And I was driving the next day... and for the first time since 3rd grade I no longer wear glasses or contacts.. only readers for small print. Amazing clarity. When my mom had the procedure she had to go to the hospital and stay for several days. That was back in the 70's. Nowadays, it's an easy procedure. Realize I made this a personal post but I am feeling so great and seeing so well!!

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 406

01/28/2013

R402 yes you missed it, how hard was that?

Thomas was nasty to O'Brien's nephew and looked down on his employment now that he had made it to be a valet. O'Brien played a joke on him to retaliate, taking Lord Crawley's shirts and embarrassing Thomas, so he took vengeance on her by spreading a rumor that she would quit her job and put her at odds with Lady Crawley.

They slowly amped up the war, and it's about to get even worse.

Pay attention!

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 407

01/28/2013

One other thought on the writing. As much as I find Elizabeth McGovern's mannerism off-putting, I had this sense that someone said "Michelle Dockery is lead actress" so let her be the one to shake Sybil to wake up.

That should have been the mother's moment, to do something out of instinct to try to pull her daughter back, yes?

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 408

01/28/2013

[quote]sent her to hospital ..

PLEASE stop fucking saying this. It's even making its way into popular U.S. journalism.

Yes, I know it's the way they say it in Europe, but not so here in the states.

There's an asinine push to make this happen and it just sounds, well, asinine when you're saying or writing it for an American audience. Make it stop already!

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 409

01/28/2013

Do we all remember when we saw Allen Leech (Tom Branson) first? He was fabulous!

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 410

01/28/2013

Yes, r410, I just watched it last week for the first time. Allen is SO adorable. I think I'm in love.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 411

01/28/2013

When is Mrs. Hughes going to lose her temper and tell Carson that he's actually the soap's most annoying whore?

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 412

01/28/2013

She does a better job that that, R412, when she puts him in her place in the next few episodes, one little humorous bit at a time.

She proves how with it she is that she dismisses him as ridiculous, albeit in a loving way.

Especially in the last episode of the season. Love her.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 413

01/28/2013

R409 belongs in the psycho replies thread.

This isn't a forum just for Americans, you know.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 414

01/28/2013

I thought it was cute that the small cast of Downton Abbey looked so surprised that they won the SAG award. They totally did not expect it. That's probably why they sent such a small and not that high profile, except for Lady Mary, group to the ceremony.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 415

01/28/2013

Is Obrien really trying to help the new footman in his issues with Thomas? I was not quite sure and you never know with her.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 416

01/28/2013

R378, but Edith did something so unforgiveable to Mary in season 1 that I'm surprised Mary can ever stand to be in the same room with her. Yes, Mary has been terrible to Edith, too - but only in retaliation and it couldn't compare to what Edith did to her.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 417

01/28/2013

R416, I suspect O'Brien is trying to get the new footman to remain friendly with Thomas so that Thomas will misinterpret things and make a move on him, which is sure to get him into trouble. O'Brien has it out for Thomas now.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 418

01/28/2013

Thomas has to be a complete moron to not realize the new footman is not interested.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 419

01/28/2013

Maybe Thomas' gaydar isn't very good.

My question: why doesn't Thomas head up to the city on his day off, cruise the parks and the pubs? He's not married, he's accepted that he's gay, he's clearly horny, that's when men did back then...yet he's shown constantly drooling over men who aren't interested them, he makes a pass and gets rebuffed (the Turkish diplomat's son, Jimmy).

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 420

01/28/2013

I am starting to tire of this show. I hate Daisy's character, as well as Ethel. Branson's character is also unlikeable.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 421

01/28/2013

Wonderful episode.

I actually felt sorry for Thomas.

The look on that old bitch's face (Mrs. Bird? Burns?) was priceless as Mrs. Crawley not only gave her the axe, but repeatedly insulted her, in the "politest" manner possible.

I remember Tim Piggott-Smith (Lord whatever) from when he was a total hottie in "The Jewel in the Crown".

Lord Grantham really was an ass last night - and Cora will make him pay, I'm sure.

O'Brien's evil smirk at the end was perfect.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 422

01/28/2013

It's appalling how biasedly anti-Irish this soap is. The British were responsible for many, many thousands of Irish deaths by starvation.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 423

01/28/2013

Well, duh, r423, it's not the show that's anti-Irish, it's the characters!

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 424

01/28/2013

Thomas needs to show Jimmy his no-no...

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 425

01/28/2013

Lord Grantham is really pretty stupid - which he covers with arrogance. They have really taken him down a few pegs this season.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 426

01/28/2013

It's about the English - granted, at a particular time in their history but still applicable to what makes the English who they are, even today. Brilliantly written and brilliantly acted. We should hope any U.S. TV series could ever come even close to revealing what we Americans are and why we are the way we are. (Well, there may have been some mini-series in the past that did a good job of it but certainly none in recent years.) One of the reasons I love "Downton" so much is because our forefathers WERE the English, the Irish, the Scots. The values, the prejudices,the decorum,etc. displayed in "Downton" was and still is at the heart of who we are as a society, even though we liked to deny that fact for centuries. It's harder to believe that now because in recent decades so many non-Anglo-European immigrants have come to America and we became something else in the 20th century.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 427

01/28/2013

[quote]sent her to hospital ..

quote] PLEASE stop fucking saying this. It's even making its way into popular U.S. journalism.There's an asinine push to make this happen and it just sounds, well, asinine when you're saying or writing it for an American audience. Make it stop already!

Honey, I think you need to be sent to Nuthouse.

[quote]Thomas has to be a complete moron to not realize the new footman is not interested.

Darlin', he's a Homosexual AND a Man.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 428

01/28/2013

I'd bet the ranch that Obrien comes out ahead in the feud with Thomas. She is steps ahead of him in this game of chess.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 429

01/28/2013

[quote] One other thought on the writing. As much as I find Elizabeth McGovern's mannerism off-putting, I had this sense that someone said "Michelle Dockery is lead actress" so let her be the one to shake Sybil to wake up.

r408, I had trouble with this as well. Why was Lady Cora not the first to be told there was trouble with Sybil? Why was it that Mary was taking charge in that scene?

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 430

01/28/2013

Mary is a beeeyotch, she should get her own reality show on Bravo.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 431

01/28/2013

I'm not so sure, r429. Thomas still has dirt on O'Brien. Big dirt.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 432

01/28/2013

This was a really good episode, I often laugh out loud at the ridiculousness of the story but was choking back some tears at Sybil's death. I thought Elizabeth "Baby Talk" McGovern actually did some decent acting and shook of the simpering a bit.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 433

01/28/2013

Wait, wasn't she barely pregnant last week? Now she's had a baby and died?

I realize this program is just ridiculous, campy fun; but it's smothering itself under the smoke of it's own ridiculousness.

They should dial it back a bit; try to focus on the period and not so much on having some major drama/scandal in every episode. How did the family begin to merge into the new century and the 1920? Let's see more about the land and the people who work for "Lord Grantham". How about more story on Mrs. Crawley?

Oh, and maybe retire the increasingly tiresome and viewer irritation of Bates and his prison life.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 434

01/28/2013

How is Mrs. Crawley related to the rest of the family? She doesn't appear to live in the main house with the rest of them.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 435

01/28/2013

Could someone explain to me how a show filmed on British soil with actors working under British Equity contracts is eligible for the SAG Awards?

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 436

01/28/2013

r434 the fact that you can't seem to recall that Sybil was pregnant last Christmas just goes to show that the details of the show go right by you. You only seem to remember the drama, myopically so.

r430 the only explanation, apart from the apt comment above about favoring Dockery, is that Cora is a casualty of her time. She married a man who loved his class more than her and needed her money and knows her place. She was constantly trying to get Mary to preserve the line, deferred to Robert on fighting the inheritance rule and let him squander away her money. She kept saying let Tom decide about her card because she needed a man to stand up to another man...

But at that bedside moment, I would think a mother would have pushed everyone aside to get to her baby...

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 437

01/28/2013

[quote]Could someone explain to me how a show filmed on British soil with actors working under British Equity contracts is eligible for the SAG Awards?

Because, like all of America, Hollywood suffers from both an infestation of Brits as well as an ignorance to the fact that thousands of Americans go unrecognized and without work and respect every day because of it.

The U.K. will not hire or award American actors and entertainment people the way the U.S. does, but the U.S. entertainment industry has become completely subservient to British and U.K. film people.

Who the fuck knows why, but that's how it is.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 438

01/28/2013

I've been disappointed all season so far. Sybil was barely in any of the episodes making it harder to feel sad in losing her. The focus has been on her husband, not her. For the times, it's admirable but ridiculous that Mrs. Crawley would hire a former prostitute. The other servants' reaction is more accurate. Last night, the ridiculous fights over whether Sybil had eclampsia reached a new low. If there was even a chance, why wouldn't they get her to the hospital? Ugh, and I loved the first two seasons. Oh well, I can't believe there will be a Season 4.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 439

01/28/2013

[quote]Could someone explain to me how a show filmed on British soil with actors working under British Equity contracts is eligible for the SAG Awards?

Because the actors are members of the Screen Actors Guild as well.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 440

01/28/2013

r432, are you referring to the soap next to Cora's bath? Does Thomas know about that? I don't think he does, I'm pretty sure O'Brien never told a soul, though she may have referred to it obliquely.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 441

01/28/2013

No, R441, I'm sure R432 is referring to something O'Brien reveals about herself in episodes that haven't aired yet in the US.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 442

01/28/2013

438 -- Your response explains the cultural shift that has allowed the British to dominate within the film industry, but my question is a more technical one. The union has something called "Rule One" that prohibits union members from working under anything other than a SAG contract, so why would the union reward actors working under nonSAG contracts, to the exclusion of other casts working under SAG contracts. It's truly bizarre.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 443

01/28/2013

R409.. I meant to say they sent her to THE hospital.. an error simple and true. Unclench dear, it's so unbecoming ;)

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 444

01/28/2013

[quote]How is Mrs. Crawley related to the rest of the family? She doesn't appear to live in the main house with the rest of them.

She is the mother of the distant cousin (Matthew) who became heir to DA in episode 1. She does not live in the main house. Neither does the Dowager Countess. The latter is due to tradition. The former is because having Mrs. Crawley in the main house would lead to murder.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 445

01/28/2013

[quote] I am starting to tire of this show. I hate Daisy's character, as well as Ethel. Branson's character is also unlikeable.

You have to look at it like a camp fest. I laugh out loud at much of the show. Like high class doctors in 1920 didn't know what eclampsia was. It wasn't a new thing -- women had been dying of it for years. Of course any doctor would know about it. Lower classes used midwives but upper classes used doctors and eclampsia didn't discriminate.

Another laugh -- that Ethel's "father-in-law" would be tracking Ethel's activities and not had the police go in and take the boy. He is wealthy, he has connections. If they wanted the kid, they could easily have taken him and said Ethel was unfit to care for their grandson.

Then Ethel says, "I think you love my son." The old man has seen the kid for maybe 10 minutes in his entire life, and the boy was a baby for the first 5 minutes the old guy saw him. How could Ethel tell he "loves" her son? It was just LOLable. And the boy's grandmother telling Ethel they'll be friends. Yes, of course. IRL she wouldn't be in the same room with her after she'd been turning tricks.

And what's with Isobel going around telling everyone Ethel is a prostitute. Could she not have quietly told the housekeeper and said, "Let's keep it between ourselves"? One minute Isobel is the only one who knows, the next minute all of DA knows. If Isobel wanted to help Ethel, she wouldn't have blabbed that she's a ho. She could ha e said she ran into Ethel walking down the street.

You just have to laugh. The characters are always doing the exact wrong thing in order for plot to advance.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 446

01/28/2013

Why did they take Sybill's body away? Weren't people still keeping their dearly departed at home until burial? Downton probably has its own cemetary, no need to take her away. Just pack some ice about her (winter, wasn't it?) and open the windows. So sad they trotted her off, and seems historically inaccurate, too.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 447

01/28/2013

Another thing, r446: why did Isobel wait until AFTER Ethel had given up her son to hire her; she could've hired her in the first place and allowed her to raise her son herself!

That was really stupid plotting. I wonder if the cast think, well, it's a paycheck, but this is getting silly.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 448

01/28/2013

So far, of all the characters we know (we didnt know the two on the Titanic) who have died on DA, the ratio is 3:1 female. The goofy footman died in the war, the pale ginger girl died of influenza, Mrs Bates died of poisoning and Sybil died after childbirth.

I think they will amp up the man-killing soon.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 449

01/28/2013

I agree with all the posts on the silly plotting that makes no sense. I kept thinking the same thing, R448. Why not help Ethel before she became desperate? Although, Mrs. Bird probably would have had the same reaction since Ethel had a child out of wedlock. She was already a "fallen woman" due to that.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 450

01/28/2013

[quote] Another thing, [R446]: why did Isobel wait until AFTER Ethel had given up her son to hire her; she could've hired her in the first place and allowed her to raise her son herself!

Exactly. But I suppose the excuse would be that she couldn't have a little bastard running around her house. Prostitute yes, child, no.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 451

01/28/2013

r449, don't forget the sexy Turk, who, even if he only appeared in 1 episode, his death propelled plots for 2 seasons.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 452

01/28/2013

Also, the other servants know Ethel. They know why she turned tricks. To feed herself and her child. It's not like she's some crackwhore who was brought up on the streets. You would think they would forgive her a la Mary Magdalene (sp?)

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 453

01/28/2013

Oh yes, the Turk. We lusted for him but alas, did not know him. They really should have had him in a few episodes before he croaked it in Mary's bed. We would love to have gotten to know poor Mr Pamouk a little better!

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 454

01/28/2013

r446 - Maybe you should just watch documentaries. All drama requires a certain amount of "suspension of disbelief". Besides, your analytical mind and cynical approach to it has distorted things. The wealthy doctor NEVER claimed he didn't know what eclampia was, he most certainly did but insisted that wasn't what was happening with Sybil - an error on his part but then, he's only human. Where was it said the father was "tracking" Ethel since the baby's birth? He would have any excuse to try and get the child once he knew it was a boy --probably wouldn't have bothered if it was a girl-- probably thought of Ethel as a whore from the beginning anyway and wouldn't need to wait and hear she was actually making a living as one now. (besides, the grandparents seemed perfectly lower middle class themselves --hardly wealthy upper class )As for Mrs. Crawley, she breaks conventions of that world she lives in and has from beginning of series --she would face facts --Ethel is a prostitute---I want to help her and no need to worry about hiding it or who knows what the situation.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 455

01/28/2013

r449, there was also the blind man that Thomas fell in love with in the hospital.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 456

01/28/2013

r420, gaydar is a twentieith century invention.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 457

01/28/2013

[quote] The wealthy doctor NEVER claimed he didn't know what eclampia was

He certainly didn't know what it was when Sybil was exhibiting all the symptoms of it -- back pain, headaches, edematous feet, disorientation and elevated protein in the urine. The dead giveaway was the protein in the urine. Any doctor would have been concerned about eclampsia, but posh doc poo-poohed it. It's set in 1921, not 1421. Doctors had advanced since the barber surgeon days and the very fact that they could test urine for protein shows it.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 458

01/28/2013

I think I missed the blind man episode. I'll have to go back and look for it on Netflix or amazon prime.

It's still time for a man to die.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 459

01/28/2013

Clarkson should have been more forceful, spelling out all of Sybil's symptoms. But she may have died anyway. I didn't think they gave mag sulfate back then. She could have had the caesarean and still died. Then the family would have blamed Clarkson for her death.

I ROLLED on the floor when Edith asked Mary if they could be closer as sisters, while standing at the corpse of Sybil and Mary was all no way, bitch. It was hilarious and one of the campinest things I've ever seen on the show. I loved it.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 460

01/28/2013

Can someone explain what's going on in the Bates subplot? First he's being set up, then he's back in good graces and finally gets his mail. Why does somebody hate his guts? Something to do with the dead Mrs. Bates?

There's that prisoner who's watching out for Bates and warns him. Why? And how does he know things? Did I miss something?

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 461

01/28/2013

r458, I took it that the Posh Doc's pride was already insulted and he was just sticking to his guns out of pride.

Men do that, ya know. Especially wealth entitled "professionals". To have one of HIS patients end up in the hospital would have been a smudge on his spotless record.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 462

01/28/2013

Is the Dowager Countess's house on the grounds of DA? Why does tradition dictate that she can't live in the main house with the rest of the family? That seems very odd.

Why hasn't anyone informed Shirley MacLaine of her granddaughter's death and her great-grandson's birth?

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 463

01/28/2013

LOVED Daisy and Bates at the start but HATE them now!!!!

I think they should kill both in a grease fire!!!!!!

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 464

01/28/2013

r455, in the last episode, the grandfather TOLD Ethel that he'd had private detectives following her.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 465

01/28/2013

The Bates thing is so over for me. I don't pay much attention. I believe he beat up his cellmate and now the cellmate and the cellmate's prison guard friend are after him. Don't ask me why the prison guard is friends with the cellmate. Or how the other prisoner knows all this stuff going to happen. The other prisoner says he hates Bates' cellmate and that's why he tells Bates these plots that are abounding around him. Someone on another message board said he give Bates spoilers and I now think of him as the Spoiler Alert Prisoner.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 466

01/28/2013

r457, last time I looked, 1921 IS the 20th century.

(I suspect gaydar has existed since the beginning of time. I realize you were joking.)

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 467

01/28/2013

R455 is one of those rabid fangurls whose irony of bitching about others bitching is completely lost on her.

R455 also fails to remember/realize that this is a DISCUSSION FORUM and that people here are not only welcome, but ENCOURAGED to bitch, gossip and, you know, discuss television shows, movies, music, celebrities and politics.

R455, your sweet delicate little brain apparently cannot handle the jagged world of online forums. I suggest you keep your smelling salts handy, back away from that dreadful 21st Century talking box which vexes you so and continue reading your tattered copy of Little Women until you've calmed yourself.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 468

01/28/2013

I also got lost with the Bates storyline in prison. I really don't care about it though. WHET Mary's trip to the United States? It's as if they glossed over all of it and picked up with her marrying Matthew just like that in Season 3.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 469

01/28/2013

R462 has severe daddy issues.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 470

01/28/2013

How BIG do you think Alfred's penis is???

Redheads are notorious for having GIGANTIC dicks!!!!!

I dream of his every time I see him on the screen.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 471

01/28/2013

[quote] LOVED Daisy and Bates at the start but HATE them now!!!!

That's how soaps are. One character is a Good Character for a while and then suddenly becomes the Bad Character. Like Lord Grantham. He was all progressive in the first two series and gave people common sense advice; now he's ranting about Johnny Foreigner and refusing to look at the estate management and being a thoughtless dolt.

In a little while, the Bad Characters will revert back to Good Characters -- for a while -- while other Good Chatacters take their turns at being Bad Characters.

They've already had an amnesia patient who looks nothing like he used to look -- Soap operas pretty much invented that character.

The Bates subplot is horrible. Except for marrying Anna, the poor guy can't get a break anywhere. If they kill him off in prison I will be really mad!

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 473

01/28/2013

The obscure prison politics are made even more so by the indecipherable dialogue. A guard is out for Bates, but I have no idea why.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 474

01/28/2013

Agree with R469 about Mary's trip to NYC. Along those lines, WEHT Sir Richard's threat to expose Mary's tryst with Mr. Pamouk? Was that ever addressed in this new season? Or are we just left to assume that Sir Richard decided against it since he claimed he really did love Mary, although why I don't know he did. She's so cold. Reminds me of a bitchy aunt in my family that everyone hates.

Everything seems so muddled this year. They bring on Shirley MacLaine but what for? To say she won't save Downton? I agree that the prison plot is very muddled. I can't figure out why anyone is after Bates. And why bring Ethel back? The new servants are boring. Why add them? So Thomas and Daisy can get rejected by new characters?

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 475

01/28/2013

With Bates in prison, we get a regular peek at his furry chest. When he's back in service he'll be all buttoned up again.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 476

01/28/2013

R472 brings up a good point. How long before long lost cousin Patrick rears his FUGLY head again?

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 477

01/28/2013

I just discovered on Ancestry.com that I am related to the Crowleys. I am already planning a trip to Downton Abbey so I can introduce myself to the 'clan'. Who is the current Earl of Grantham?

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 478

01/28/2013

Kidney souffle sounds gross.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 479

01/28/2013

[quote] The Bates subplot is horrible.

The Ethel stuff is worse. Ethel is the most important Downton ex-employee evah. Too much screen time.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 480

01/28/2013

I hope Thomas and Jimmy get to explore each other's musky nutsacks and valet holes

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 481

01/28/2013

I am at a loss to understand how R461, R469, and R475 can't seem to follow the show. Is it an American thing? Some form of A.D.D.?

Mary didn't go to New York because Sir Richard Carlisle chose not to out her scandal in his papers. That was the primary reason she had planned to leave plus to just get away but Matthew talked her into staying and proposed to her. Did you not see the Christmas special?

Bates wasn't liked by his cellmate for a general clash in attitude and his threat to the drugs being run out of his cell. Another prisoner CLEARLY explained it to him and why the guard his cellmate worked with was using intimidation and threats to cut him some slack. Bates turned the tables on the prisoner and planted drugs on him and got the bad guard exposed. Letters back, problem solved.

Maybe you guys need to DVR the show and watch it a few times.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 482

01/28/2013

The problem with the prison storyline is that it's so boring, I mentally tune it out as I'm watching.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 483

01/28/2013

Part of Mrs. Crawley sacking Mrs. Bird was the cook's insubordinate behavior. She stepped over the line a few times. Crawley was probably looking for an excuse to dump her, anyway.

The "good plain cook" category is honorable, it just differentiates the worker from someone who works in haute cuisine.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 484

01/28/2013

It really is a rambling, sloppy storyline

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 485

01/28/2013

It's bad because the setup was the absolutely worst written part of the show. There is no way all of those private conversations could've been known to the prosecution to use at the trial, particularly Grantham's conversation with Bates. The same silliness was played out with Mary's sexcapade (why not at least dare anyone to prove she wasn't raped? in that time period about a non-Brit? They could have played with that a lot more and made it more complex.) When it comes to these subplots, these nobles are not very clever or crafty.

To make it worse, Bates should've been put away and never seen again -- or at least sent away for a season then maybe to get released in some way so you actually felt the loss -- but Anna was too popular and they couldn't do it to her.

It's also too much of a subplot away from the rest of the cast, which is why it really feels odd. The show is about the ensemble, and there's this Bates story off on its own, with a couple of guards and prisoners we could care less about soaking up screen time.

The only good thing about it is that he comes back he does something quite great in the end, and it will be interesting to see if it changes the person he stands up for.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 486

01/28/2013

In season 2 Ethel reached out to the grandparents. They offered to take the child and raise him and she could work for them as a maid. How come it was ok for her to work in their house hold then but is not except-able to work in Mrs. Crawleys now?

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 487

01/28/2013

except-able, R487? I think the show is over your head.

Mrs. Crawley and the parents of Ethel's lover are different people with different values.

Mrs. Crawley clearly doesn't share the values of the Granthams or any other society people. Anyone with a brain can get this.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 488

01/28/2013

R487

Then-She would have been allowed to work for them because she bore that child as a result of a love affair with their son

Now-She is a paid whore and no "decent" person of that time would associate with one

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 489

01/28/2013

[quote] Bates turned the tables on the prisoner and planted drugs on him and got the bad guard exposed

I don't think the guard was exposed. He was back this week plotting with Evil Cellmate.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 490

01/28/2013

r487, she hadn't gone into prostitution at that point. After that meeting, I guess she fell upon hard times and needed the money.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 491

01/28/2013

[quote] The same silliness was played out with Mary's sexcapade (why not at least dare anyone to prove she wasn't raped? in that time period about a non-Brit?

Or say that nothing happened. Mary woke up and found him in her room and as she was about to scream bloody murder, he dropped dead. She knew there would be a scandal even though nothing happened between them, so she dragged him back to his room.

OR -- why didn't Mary simply deny the whole thing ever happened. Her sister spread the story to hurt Mary, but it came from the lowliest servant in the house. Mary could have said the story was from a harebrained kitchen wench who was dreaming. And then fired that fucking asshole Daisy,

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 492

01/28/2013

Ethel should have known she couldn't get a job with a baby dependent on her.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 493

01/28/2013

You're wrong R490. Go back and watch again. The new guard says as much, but it's not as if he was fired. Their scheme was put in jeopardy.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 494

01/28/2013

I have a hard time remembering to turn it on.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 495

01/28/2013

[quote[Is the Dowager Countess's house on the grounds of DA? Why does tradition dictate that she can't live in the main house with the rest of the family? That seems very odd.

Her house could be on the grounds of the estate or in an estate village. (When they say estate they don't mean the house, they mean, typically, hundreds and more likely in those days thousands of acres. So when they refer to the estate they're talking all the buildings on the property and the farms and probably the village of Downton, which would have started as an estate village and all the houses and buildings in it built and owned by the family.) It was not uncommon to have a good sized house called the Dower House, where the widowed mother of the present Earl would live. There would likely be several other good sized houses and a number of smaller houses and cottages for estate workers.

The (actual) Dowager Duchess of Devonshire lives in a former Rectory in the village of Edensor, which is an estate village on the Chatsworth Estate. There are two others... Baslow and Pilsley.

I guess the convention is you let your son and daughter in law run the estate when he inherits and so you don't live in your daughter in law's house, even if it does have 300 rooms. As well, it would be confusing and probably political for the former mistress of house to reside there when a new mistress is running it.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 496

01/28/2013

It just goes to show how far things have changed, that anyone now could think that Mrs. Crawley was insulting her cook by telling her no one could mistake her for a prostitute.

Back then, how could that possibly be construed as a dig?

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 497

01/28/2013

It's odd to me that the Dowager Countess didn't inherit her husband's estate in full when he died, like happens in America. IMO, the son shouldn't inherit the estate until the Countess dies. I believe Shirley MacLaine's character expressed similar bemusement over this tradition when she visited Downton.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 498

01/28/2013

[quote]I am at a loss to understand how [R461], [R469], and [R475] can't seem to follow the show. Is it an American thing? Some form of A.D.D.?

Thanks for the explanation, r482. It's not an American thing or A.D.D. Just missed it, that's all.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 499

01/28/2013

I wouldn't cross O'Brien. She's shown to be way more evil than Thomas could think of being.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 500

01/28/2013

Alfred's HUGE penis!

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 501

01/28/2013

Great ladies did not breakfast downstairs because the ritual of their toilette (hair dressing and wardrobe and general hygiene) took up a good deal of their morning.

Edith, unlike Lady Cora and Lady Mary, now wears a bob and as such, needs very little help dressing her hair in the morning.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 502

01/28/2013

I do hope we learn a little of O'Brien's back story before Season 3 ends. She's a great character.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 503

01/28/2013

O'Brien is almost evil enough to have been a nun in my elementary school. But I think she's Protestant anyway.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 504

01/28/2013

O'Brien seems to care about family. Not anyone else though.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 505

01/28/2013

I'm sure O'Brian's cousin would have put out for Thomas if she had asked him too. Then she and Thomas could still be in cahoots together. The two of them working together is much more fun than the two of them at war.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 506

01/28/2013

Will Thomas ever get a shirtless scene? Or one of him in bed naked?

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 507

01/28/2013

[quote]It's odd to me that the Dowager Countess didn't inherit her husband's estate in full when he died, like happens in America. IMO, the son shouldn't inherit the estate until the Countess dies.

That's not how it worked in the landed aristocracy. It's primogeniture. Everything (or almost) to the first born son because everything is about preserving the line, the estate and, assuming there is one, the title. In most cases, the terms were dictated as such when the title was granted.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 508

01/28/2013

You realize Thomas is just an nasty bitch and an amateur. O'Brien is the one with the dorsal fin.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 509

01/28/2013

To the person who thinks they are anti-Irish, look up the year 1920 and 1921 in British Irish history and then come back and talk about.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 510

01/28/2013

If you want to see Dan Stevens is a good gay role, check out Line of Beauty the movie based on the novel with the same name by Alan Hollinghurst. It was a 3 part series in Britain but I got the movie after reading the book. The movie is in 3 parts.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 511

01/28/2013

Is the actor who plays the husband of the woman who died last night gay in real life?

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 512

01/28/2013

Well, he hasn't won a lifetime achievement award, so who really knows?

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 513

01/28/2013

Why is Mary the only sister with her own maid? Who does ugly Edith's hair and dresses her for bed?

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 514

01/28/2013

Could the rabid fanboy who keeps going on off people as being "below" the show and stupid Americans and such die in a fucking grease fire? Please?

It's a fucking discussion forum you twat. And why the fuck are you trolling an American forum anyway if you're above it all and it irritates you so much?

r512, it's been rumored. Of course, it may be wishful thinking: Allen Leech is incredibly cute and one of his first major roles was playing the gay roommate of the hero in the Irish coming of age dramedy "Cowboys & Angels" (2003). I want to believe that he is and that he'll come to Dallas, sweep me off my feet and take me away to Ireland, where we'll live in clover forever....

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 518

01/28/2013

Any Allen Leech nudity thus far, r518?

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 519

01/28/2013

Allen Leech (the Irish chauffeur/Lady Sybil's husband) pings a lot in interviews. So does Ed "fuck me hard" Speleers, who plays the footman Thomas is after.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 520

01/28/2013

Not that I'm aware of, r519. But here he is shirtless.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 521

01/28/2013

My BF is growing really tired of me. I can't help myself but like to switch between Matthew and Mary's voices. Their voices are so beautiful!

Oh, David, what should we have for dinner?

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 522

01/29/2013

Holy Toledo! The actor who plays the Turkish Diplomat's son is gorgeous in real life!

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 523

01/29/2013

R514 had a good question I'm interested in knowing as we'll.

Why does Mary have a maid yet the other two sisters never have? Mary had her own maid before she was married.

Was there some first daughters rule?.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 524

01/29/2013

I think Mary's got a full time maid now because she's married. My impression previously was that Anna tended to the three of them.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 525

01/29/2013

Yes, Anna always tended to all three daughters.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 526

01/29/2013

Anna explains it a bit more in the Christmas special, not a spoiler, just she says it outright.

Anna attended to all three daughters because she was a downstairs maid. Now she's been promoted to Lady's Maid. It's not explained fully, but Matthew is co-owner of the Downton estate now, not just the future Earl of Grantham. Mary, by virtue of the marriage, has a higher status and gets a Lady's Maid.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 527

01/29/2013

[quote]Anna attended to all three daughters because she was a downstairs maid.

So they didn't mind their clothes and hair smelling like furniture polish?

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 528

01/29/2013

Just a few comments above to R503 - R505.

We don't learn much more about O'Brien, but by the end of the season, especially the Christmas special, you realize why she's one of the most interesting characters and why Siobhan Finneran is really underappreciated as an actor.

The last episodes she keeps you constantly on edge when she's on screen. She makes you feel the tension, and the evil glances, weird kindnesses, and how she dodges one problem after another keeps me paying attention to her.

As for Albert doing something to get ahead with Thomas, keep watching. You may disagree.

As for her caring only for family, it's not true. She looked after Mr. Lang, the war-vet who joined the staff in Season 2, she worried about William when he went to war, and even this season she shows that she has certain principles about what being professional means and is more complicated than anyone thinks.

She's a scary, fascinating character.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 529

01/29/2013

Does anyone know if there will be a 4th season?

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 530

01/29/2013

[quote]Does anyone know if there will be a 4th season?

Dame Maggie Smith signed up for a 4th Season.

They just won the most coveted SAG award.

They have been nominated for every possible award.

Their tratings almost doubled in season three.

The plots are juicy and mostly unresolved.

There's a cliffhanger at the end of Season three.

It costs a lot less to have a season than it does in the US

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 531

01/29/2013

Yes, R530, announced a while ago.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 532

01/29/2013

Dear r495 your full stop should go in after the word "remembering". That is all.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 533

01/29/2013

Sorry, I don't get where all the "O'Brien is SO complex and interesting etc etc etc" comments are coming from. She's a 2nd or 3rd tier character who has very minimal screen time.

DL seems to have one zealous, DA fanboy who goes out the window when certain questions do not meet his/her requirements for a "serious" Downton Abbey discussion.

Perhaps it's the same person as the zealous O'Brien fan.?. It's like the crazy "Carla" troll in all those Mad Men threads.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 534

01/29/2013

Thomas had just returned from London and saw Jimmy putting on his shirt. Thomas just saw his back and said: "So you got the job - eh?"

Had Thomas met him in London or known him before?

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 535

01/29/2013

Thomas met Jimmy when Jimmy came to Downton to apply for the footman's position a few days/weeks earlier.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 536

01/29/2013

How is it that some people already know what Matthew's fate is, etc? Is the show ahead in the U.K. or is it people getting it via torrents, etc?

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 537

01/29/2013

Both, r537

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 538

01/29/2013

DA season 3 was shown in the UK months ago, and many of us in the US have already watched it via torrents or streaming.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 539

01/29/2013

I wish they would broadcast it in America at the same time as Britain.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 540

01/29/2013

R518, Joe?

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 541

01/29/2013

Wow, R534, you seem really tolerant of other people's opinions. Sounds like you want every comment to fit your standards of what's the appropriate tone and content of it.

And count me another fan of the O'Brien character. Maybe you will see that after the rest of the season and the screen time she gets, or maybe you won't. But your "I don't get it" and saying she's a 3rd level character doesn't add up to the screen time.

And read the reviews of the show. Most reviewers consider her one of the most effective characters.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 542

01/29/2013

I do hope they will run season 4 simultaneously in the States. I've been hopelessly spoiled for the end of this season and didn't even go looking for info.

Still cried on Sunday, though I'd seen the episode last fall.

BTW, the US version always contains new or extended scenes since PBS doesn't have commercials.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 543

01/29/2013

Anyone have any links to Allen Leech's love scenes in ROME (the HBO show)?

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 544

01/29/2013

R543, where are you getting this?

There are no commercials on our version either.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 545

01/29/2013

Oh, R545. I just assumed ITV had ads since there are always a few extra scenes in the U.S. version. Wonder why.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 546

01/29/2013

Leech and the guy who plays Bates are supposed to be the gay ones...

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 547

01/29/2013

R545, ITV has commercials.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 548

01/29/2013

If Downton Abbey had a Facebook page.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 549

01/29/2013

[quote]BTW, the US version always contains new or extended scenes since PBS doesn't have commercials.

Streaming is straight through, no commercials

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 550

01/29/2013

The stream comes from the ITV broadcast. The commercials are cut, but they still don't have the extra scenes.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 551

01/29/2013

I'm not in the UK, R548. I'm in Sweden. Ours is the same as the UK, but commercials have nothing to do with it.

The US version apparently in Season 1 had two hours less, according to PBS officials.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 552

01/29/2013

[quote]How is it that some people already know what Matthew's fate is, etc? Is the show ahead in the U.K. or is it people getting it via torrents, etc?

Yes and yes, plus Twitter. When the death of Sybil aired in the UK, there was no avoiding that knowledge because it was a hot trending topic on Twitter.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 553

01/29/2013

That's hilarious, r549!!!'

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 554

01/29/2013

What an insulting article, R552. Masterpiece on PBS has always had a host who explains plot twists and brings audiences up to speed. It's not that the American audience for Downton can't grasp the concept, it's that we have no patience with plodding minutiae and redundant scenes. The Daily Mail never misses an opportunity to bash the States, even when we are embracing a bit of their pop culture.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 555

01/29/2013

R55, I didn't link it for that, just the PBS affirmation that there were less scenes, not more.

It's interesting that people are talking about not understanding things and you're talking about not caring about minutiae in the series... maybe the missing scenes are why people are confused about the plot?

And it's the PBS official who not only makes comments about all Americans and your tastes, but says that she thinks what makes for better drama and pacing.... so much for respecting the work.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 556

01/29/2013

Has anyone bothered to tell poor Shirley MacLaine that her granddaughter died?

The episode would have been so much better if Ol' Shirl had been there ripping the snotty doctor a new asshole.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 557

01/29/2013

Two episodes with Shirley Maclaine was more than enough.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 558

01/29/2013

I wonder when Downton Abbey finally ends, they'll do a montage to show how everybody eventually died? All of these characters would be long-dead by now.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 559

01/29/2013

Oh I guess I missed that R537 so he saw him when he applied for the position....okay....

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 560

01/29/2013

r557, Mary told Lord Grantham that she sent her grandmother an email.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 561

01/29/2013

R559, Lady Edith will still be alive. She will be the feistiest 120 year old in all of England.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 562

01/29/2013

Actually, Mary and Matthew's baby could still be alive in 2013. He would be 93 today.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 563

01/29/2013

And what baby would that be? You mean Sybil and Tom's?

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 564

01/29/2013

A baby boy born in 1921 England will be just the right age to go fight the Nazi's.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 565

01/29/2013

If those constant irritating messages from the Viking Cruise Lines and Ralph Lauren aren't commercials, what are they?

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 566

01/29/2013

[quote]A baby boy born in 1921 England will be just the right age to go fight the Nazi's.

Not if you're counting time by the original Upstairs Downstairs time. 27 years pass and Rose doesn't age a day.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 567

01/29/2013

[quote]Actually, Mary and Matthew's baby could still be alive in 2013.

In theory.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 568

01/29/2013

If SYbil had a boy would that have bumped Matthew from inheriting DA?

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 569

01/29/2013

Good question. But if Matthew and Mary had a boy, I think he would inherit, even if Sybil had had one.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 570

01/29/2013

No. The only boy that counts comes from the dainty jizz of the male heir. So while a Matthew and Mary boy would count, a Sybil and Branson boy would just be another Fenian rebel. A Mary and Pamouk boy would, in addition to being a scandal, count for nothing either.

That's the whole purpose of an entail, which is typical of a title. It passes down through the heirs male of the body... which means legitimate sons of the title holder.

If the title holder doesn't produce a boy, you revert back to the previous Earl and start looking for sons there.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 571

01/29/2013

what about "XXX, countess in her own right"?

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 572

01/29/2013

There are a few variations, like Countess in her own right, but not many. It's all about the boys. There's actually pressure in the UK while they're fucking with the line of succession to change the laws governing titles so the eldest daughter can inherit.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 573

01/29/2013

It's free on Amazon Prime because I watched both seasons of it on Amazon Prime this past weekend. The Prime site is tricky. You can click on the individual episodes for $1.99 if you want to buy them. But right next to that is a tab that says "watch now" and it's completely free.

I watched this season's episodes On Demand on PBS. I may keep Amazon Prime. After the first free month, it's $79 for the rest of the year. Lots of free or discounted stuff. Between Prime, Hulu Plus and Netflix I have to wonder why wnyone has cable or satellites anymore.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 574

01/30/2013

Because of the laws of inheritance back in Edwardian times and even before, When the aristocrat died, the estate, including the house, went directly to the male heir next in line. This displaced the widow. So there was a "dower" house or cottage, or an apartment on the estate for her so she wouldn't be turned out into the streets. She didn't own it and couldn't will it to anyone, but was allowed to reside there for as long as she lived.

If you look at Kensington Palace today, there are a couple of cottages on the grounds, that aare assigned to whomever.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 575

01/30/2013

So wherever Violet lives she has to be driven to but it probably is on the estate? Also, she would have a small staff?

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 576

01/30/2013

As someone said earlier, an "estate" wasn't always one large piece of property--it could be different pieces of land scattered all over. A dower house could be on the property where the manor house was, but it could also be someplace other than where the big house was.

Also, what a woman brought to the marriage (dowry) could have a whole bunch of legal-agreement stuff worked out between the parties, and sometimes she DID get to keep it.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 577

01/30/2013

It's kind of fucked up that the government decided the laws of inheritance instead of individual families.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 578

01/30/2013

Could someone please show a little kindness and provide links to sites where we can stream the UK episodes?

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 579

01/30/2013

OMG R549!!! That was hysterical!! LOVE IT!!!!

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 580

01/30/2013

Interesting take?

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 581

01/30/2013

[quote]I watched this season's episodes On Demand on PBS. I may keep Amazon Prime. After the first free month, it's $79 for the rest of the year. Lots of free or discounted stuff. Between Prime, Hulu Plus and Netflix I have to wonder why wnyone has cable or satellites anymore.

OMG, how some like to complicate their lives.

How many times have I posted this link on this thread already? Just go here, and stream away. No mess, just a few pop-ups that you can get rid of ... and stay away from clicking on what are obviously ads; just click on the episode you want, skip any ads, hit play arrow, no upgrades, no membership.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 582

01/30/2013

r582, I've given up posting the 1channel.ch link on Datalounge. I did it several times, and people were still "where can we watch shit online?" Jesus Christ, I just gave up.

I'm actually surprised there are people who still don't know about all the streaming sites out there - they've been around for years now. Hell, even my 63 year-old mother uses them.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 583

01/30/2013

Isn't Ethel a hot number in real life, posing nekkid for lad magazines?

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 584

01/30/2013

Not that simple R583

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 585

01/30/2013

The Ethel character reminds me of the Coyote vs. the Road Runner. Homely people carry a lot of grief and spite.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 586

01/30/2013

Slutty Ethel showing off her mammoth mammaries.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 587

01/30/2013

[quote]I've given up posting the 1channel.ch link on Datalounge. I did it several times, and people were still "where can we watch shit online?" Jesus Christ, I just gave up.

They're fucking illegal. They are streaming movies still in theaters.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 588

01/30/2013

I tried it and it wanted me to register and all that crap. You made it sound easy but it obviously isn't easy or I would be watching my film right now.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 589

01/30/2013

It's not easy and it's probably not good for your computer. I was warned a few times that my computer was under attack.Viruses.

If you download, the terrorists win.

OK. I went to Amazon Prime, and it's fine and I can watch it for free except for season 3. But I also learned that I can watch the entire 3rd season, all nine episodes right now, if I get a TV Pass. This is the BBC version. Now WTF is a TV pass and how much do they cost.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 590

01/30/2013

Get Expat Shield. It's free and it gives you a UK IP address. That way you can watch any program that is available from the BBC. It can be a bit wonky at times and you might get ads, etc. but I've been using it for years with no problems.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 591

01/30/2013

Omg I have never had a problem streamlining. You queens need to get more tech saavy.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 592

01/30/2013

How fucking ancient are you people that you can't watch the streaming sites? Jesus Christ. And you don't have to register at all.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 593

01/30/2013

So if I download Expat Shield to get a UK address, do I have to give up my regular address?I want to know what is the downside?

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 594

01/30/2013

You don't, R594. As soon as you disconnect, you get your American IP back.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 595

01/30/2013

Be careful what you ask for R459.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 596

01/30/2013

Fine I know what the future portends. But let us suppose there's a sequel to Downton Abbey. What happens. Do we segue into that movie with Emma Thompson and Anthony Hopkins where they work in a House for some lord who becomes a Nazi sympathizer, with Hugh Grant for a nephew, then an American who becomes Superman buys the house after WWII?

Will there be a male heir who can inherit the Downton Abbey estates and make them profitable? Will it turn into a bed and breakfast, or be rented out for movie sets, or open to tourists several weeks out of the year?

Will there be a local fair? WIll some famous music and arts festival bring millions to the town? Will the Blessed Mother appear to the children while they say their rosary?

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 597

01/30/2013

I just bought season 3 on iTunes so PBS is pooched but I know all I need to know about those river cruises in any event and Ralph Lauren doesn't fool me.

But... the Downton that was so entertaining in Season 1 seems to have resurfaced in the back end of series three. Watched all the episodes tonight since Sybil's death and it's really entertaining stuff... and Maggie is on a tear. She's more hilarious than ever.

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 598

01/30/2013

So now that Lady Sybil has died, is Jessica Findlay-Whatever in for a big movie career? Anything in the pipeline?

by Dame Maggie Smith, 2-time Oscar winner

reply 599

01/30/2013

Well, this is the end of it. Tell the ladies I'll be coming through in a moment.

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